‘Heroic’ British father gave his life as hostage to save group of children in Nairobi mall massacre
Ben Farmer, Mike Pflanz, The Telegraph, 28/09/13, Last Updated: 28/09/13 1:08 AM ET, Source
Family members console Rupal Shah, center, the wife of Mitul Amritlal Shah, of Bidco Group of Kenya, during his funeral at the Hindu Crematorium in Nairobi, Kenya Thursday, Sept. 26, 2013. Shah was shot dead in the attack on the Westgate Mall in Nairobi, last Saturday Sept. 21.
A British sales executive was shot dead in the terrorist attack on a Nairobi shopping centre as he offered himself as a hostage to save children at a cookery contest, it emerged Friday.
Mitul Shah died trying to negotiate with Al-Shabab attackers who stormed the Westgate shopping centre, his employers said, in an attack that killed at least 67 civilians and members of the security forces.
Pressure was mounting on Kenya’s security services, as it was revealed officials were warned a year ago that terrorists were planning a suicide attack on the shopping centre.
Mr Shah, a sales team leader with Bidco Oil, was killed in the attack’s first wave while helping to host the children’s contest sponsored by his company on the rooftop car park.
His funeral was held in Nairobi on Thursday.
Dipak Shah, director of the cooking oil firm, said: “He was trying to negotiate the freedom of the children in order for him to be taken as a hostage.
He was a wonderful person who always went out of his way, beyond the call of duty, to help others
“Some had managed to save their lives but unfortunately he, and others, did not. It was a heroic and brave act – a true reflection of his soul. He was a wonderful person who always went out of his way, beyond the call of duty, to help others,” he told The Evening Standard.
Mitul Shah was killed in the Nairobi massacre after offering to become a hostage in exchange for the lives of a group of children.
Mr Shah, 38, who held dual British and Kenyan nationality, leaves a wife, Rupal Shah and two-year-old daughter Sarai.
Born in London, he went to school in Kenya and then studied for a management degree from the University of Kent, before joining Bidco as a management trainee, the firm said.
A Manchester United fan, he was chairman of Bidco’s football team.
“He was a very positive person, full of joy, full of laughter,” Mr Shah said. “It is a great loss for us.”
The Kenyan interior ministry said they had released three out of 11 people in connection with the attack by Islamist militants. Five militants out of an estimated 15 who stormed the building died, according to the Kenyan authorities. So far, no one has been charged.
“Police are holding eight suspects as they seek to unmask the face behind the terror attack. Three others were interrogated and released,” said Joseph Ole Lenku, the interior minister.
He said the suspects were being held under anti-terrorism laws, meaning they could be held “for longer periods before being arraigned in court”, although he did not give details.
Al-Shabaab, a Somalian Islamist group affiliated to al-Qaeda, said it launched the operation to demand Kenya withdraw its troops from Somalia, where Kenyan forces were sent in 2011.
A senior military officer admitted to the Associated Press that Kenya’s military caused the collapse of three floors of the mall. The official confirmed that Kenyan troops fired rocket-propelled grenades inside the mall, but would not say what was used to cause the collapse.
People leave after attending the Sikh funeral of Mitul Shah, killed by gunmen in the Westgate Mall attack, during his funeral ceremony in Nairobi, on September 26, 2013.
Local reports in Kenya said that efforts to free hostages were delayed by chaotic rivalry between police and army rescuers, which allowed terrorists to regroup and kill captives.
The Kenyan interior ministry denied there had been command clashes during the rescue operation.
The BBC last night cited senior Kenyan security sources as saying that the militants had rented a shop in the mall from which to mount their attack. According to the BBC report, the shop could only have been rented with fake IDs obtained through corrupt government officials.
The Daily Telegraph