Nairobi attack: Tanzanian in hospital with gunshot wounds
Vedastus Nsanzungwanko rests at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi yesterday. The youthful Unicef executive, a citizen of Tanzania, was among the hundreds of victims of Saturday's terrorist attack at Westgate Mall. PHOTO | FILE
What you need to know:
- Mr Haule said Tanzania’s High Commissioner to Kenya, Dr Batilda Burian, was monitoring the situation on the ground with a view to establishing whether any Tanzanian was caught up in the attack.
Dar es Salaam. A Tanzanian was wounded in the terrorist attack at a Nairobi shopping mall, the government confirmed yesterday.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation named the victim as Mr Vedastus Nsanzungwanko, who works with Unicef in Nairobi.
Mr Nsanzugwanko was wounded on both legs when the attackers hurled grenades into the mall. He was admitted to Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi
Earlier, the ministry’s permanent secretary, Mr John Haule, said it was still not known whether any Tanzanian was killed or wounded during the attack.
He said the ministry was trying to establish whether there were any Tanzanian casualties during the siege in which at least 70 people died.
“We have yet to establish if any of our citizens was killed or is being held hostage by the attackers,” said Mr Haule, adding that Kenyan security forces were battling to rescue hostages held by militants holed up in the complex.
Mr Haule said Tanzanians living in Kenya had been asked to inform the high commission in Nairobi if they know of any Tanzanian who was at the Westgate shopping mall, and who had not returned home.
Mr Haule said Tanzania’s High Commissioner to Kenya, Dr Batilda Burian, was monitoring the situation on the ground with a view to establishing whether any Tanzanian was caught up in the attack.
“There is no news yet, but Tanzanians living in Kenya have been asked to inform the high commission if they have missing relatives or friends. This will help us to establish whether there were Tanzanian casualties,” he said.
Thousands of Tanzanians are working and studying in the Kenyan capital, where heavily armed attackers stormed an upmarket shopping mall on Saturday and killed dozens of people.
It was the worst terrorist attack in Kenya since the 1998 US embassy bombing which left over 200 people dead.
Yesterday, the Netherlands Foreign ministry said a 33-year-old Dutch woman lost her life in the attack.
The victim was living in Tanzania and was married to an Australian, who was also killed in the siege, according to Dutch media reports.
Additional reporting by AFP
