On Sept. 22, gunmen infiltrated an upscale mall in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya, in an alleged organized terrorist attack on unsuspecting shoppers, some of whom were families attending a children's event. The attack claimed the lives of more than 60 adults and children.
Eyewitnesses reported that the criminals targeted non-Muslims and Westerners. Extremist group Al-Shabaab, which says it is trying to establish an Islamic Somali state, has claimed responsibility for the carnage as retaliation against Kenya's military presence in southern Somalia.
The Israeli-owned Westgate Mall, which was located in the affluent Westlands neighborhood and frequented by Western residents and wealthy locals, housed about 80 stores including famous names such as Nike and Bose.
Stores inside the mall were destroyed and looted, and a parking garage was bombed. The Association of Kenya Insurers told newspapers that the insurance damage from the attack could cost up to $115 million (or 10 billion Kenyan Shillings).
According to African news sources, Westgate was insured by a real-estate investment firm in the Lloyd's market through a $75.9 million deal syndicated by UK investment group Chaucer Syndicate Limited. The policy included cover for political attacks and terrorist acts.
Click “next” to read more and see images of the Westgate Mall post-attack.
Photos provided by AP Photos.
Above, the remains of the cash registers in the Nakumatt supermarket in the Westgate Mall on Oct. 1 are seen scorched and hardly recognizable.
Police and military personnel surrounded the mall on foot and by helicopter in a standoff with the terrorists that spanned four days. Although it is yet unclear what happened to the criminals or their hostages, the mall's scorched remains tell that the worst is over.
A view of the inside of the Westgate Mall shows kiosks looted and destroyed. Police say that the attack was planned and rehearsed, and the building's layout carefully studied far in advance. Weapons were hidden inside the mall, probably with the help of insider employees, and the terrorists may have passed through Kenya's borders with the help of corrupt or inattentive border guards.
People clean up the mess at damaged shops next to the main entrance of the Westgate Mall on Oct. 1.
Many U.S.-based stores such as Converse (pictured above) were affected by the attack. According to Corina Muller Monaghan, head of North America, Crisis Management for Towers Watson, terrorism coverage is something companies need to research well when expanding globally.
“If I were a company investing $200 million in Africa, I would gain a good understanding of the specific country's landscape by engaging consultants with a deep knowledge of the geography and an extensive counterterrorism background,” says Monaghan.
Forensics investigators work next to the collapsed upper car park at the Westgate Mall. The upper level was the site of a children's cooking demonstration that was taking place when the attack began.
This photo released by the Kenya Presidency shows the collapsed upper car park on Sept. 26. Working near bodies crushed by rubble in a bullet-scarred, scorched mall, FBI agents continued fingerprint, DNA and ballistic analysis to help determine the identities and nationalities of victims.
An armed policeman walks past the shattered glass windows of a shop in the Westgate Mall.
In a country like Kenya that has seen terrorism and political violence before—such as the recent with violence that broke out in 2007-2008 after the alleged fixed election of Mwai Kibaki—Monaghan recommends businesses expanding into Africa look into political violence coverage.
“Terrorism insurance is very specific, while political violence policies are broader and include defined perils such as malicious damage, terrorism, sabotage, riots, strikes, civil commotion, insurrection, revolution, rebellion, coup d'état/ mutiny war and civil war,” says Monaghan.
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