Pupil’s essay may lead to key Westgate attack suspect

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KDF soldiers entering Westgate mall on September 21, 2013 after terrorists attacked Westgate mall. A composition that a pupil wrote at school helped detectives identify a key witness who may provide crucial information on the Saturday’s Westgate Mall attack. Photo/JEFF ANGOTE 

In Summary

• The pregnant woman, who stays in Gigiri, rushed home and shared the information with the family members.
• Through the child, detectives traced the woman who Wednesday gave a detailed description of the man and how he warned her.

By Nation Reporter

A composition that a pupil wrote at school helped detectives identify a key witness who may provide crucial information on the Saturday’s Westgate Mall attack.

The pupil in a Nairobi school, told how his aunt’s life was saved by a stranger who warned her to leave the mall just one hour before the deadly attack.

The woman was at the mall when a man approached and advised her to leave as quickly as possible since “there was going to be a stampede.”

The pregnant woman, who stays in Gigiri, rushed home and shared the information with the family members.

Her nephew then went to school and when asked to write a composition about how he spent his Saturday, he narrated how his aunt survived the attack following the warning.

According to the pupil’s teachers, who contacted the police about the composition, he had written about what his aunt had told him.

Through the child, detectives traced the woman who Wednesday gave a detailed description of the man and how he warned her.

“The woman was told to leave the mall because being pregnant, she could not manage to get out because of the mayhem that was about to unfold. We believe she will give useful information to assist us,” the investigator said.

This, detectives say, indicates the group had positioned themselves in strategic positions around the mall.