Radiolab: "Outside Westgate"

Date: November 29, 2014
Hosts: Jad Abumrad & Robert Krulwich
Reporter: Gregory (Greg) Warner

Episode Overview

"Outside Westgate" delves into the harrowing 2013 terrorist attack on Nairobi’s upscale Westgate Mall. Through firsthand accounts, investigative reporting, and an exploration of conflicting narratives, the Radiolab team—guided by NPR’s East Africa correspondent Gregory Warner—examines how facts and eyewitness memory can collide in the aftermath of chaos and trauma. The episode ultimately becomes as much about the struggle to discern truth during a crisis as it is about the attack itself.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Setting the Scene: The Westgate Attack

• Attack Details: On September 21, 2013, armed gunmen from Somali terrorist group al-Shabaab stormed Westgate Mall in Nairobi, Kenya, resulting in a four-day siege and many fatalities.
• On-the-ground Reporting:
  • Journalists like Gregory Warner spent days outside the mall, barred from entering and relying on the sounds of gunfire and interviews with survivors for updates.
  • Robert Krulwich: “As a journalist, I feel like this story, it’s going to be a story where I’m going to have to stop being a journalist.” (01:45)

2. Initial Chaos & Media Narratives

• Eyewitness and Official Accounts:
  • Survivor and official accounts initially estimated 10–15 attackers of various ethnicities—including a supposed "White Widow," a British woman.
  • Reports swirled of at least one gunman escaping by blending in with fleeing shoppers.
• Construction of Truth During Crisis:
  • The hosts reflect on how, amid confusion, journalists fill in details with eyewitness accounts, even as narratives shift rapidly and often conflict.
  • “Four days, essentially I and dozens of international and local journalists are outside the mall...trying to guess what’s happening inside.” —Greg Warner (03:49)

3. Revelations from Forensic Evidence

• FBI Briefing:
  • Two months later, U.S. and British journalists receive a briefing from the FBI, who had viewed all CCTV footage.
  • Key Revelation: There were only four attackers, all Somali men, and none escaped.
  • Krulwich: “Everything that we had reported in those first few days was wrong.” (06:52)
  • The official account suddenly, and authoritatively, contracts the web of widespread speculation.

4. Eyewitness Discrepancies and the Power of Memory

• Puni’s Story:

  • Survivor "Puni" describes hiding under a table and seeing two young attackers in short-sleeve shirts—discrepant from the four shown on televised footage.
  • Puni: “I started to say, ‘Wait, wait a minute, I saw their arms...I know I saw short sleeved T shirts...nothing adds up...You start to think, am I crazy?’” (11:56)
  • Trauma and confusion leave survivors grasping for answers, even as official narratives try to close the case.

• General Doubt:

  • Many survivors and community members feel a cognitive dissonance—what the cameras show does not always fit what they experienced.

5. The Case of Farouk: Witness and Consequence

• Farouk’s Account:

  • Survivor "Farouk" claims he saw an Arab gunman escape by changing clothes and blending in with civilians.
  • Months later, he spots the same man at a bar and calls Warner to intervene.
  • The man is arrested, but acts confused and scared—eventually released without charge.
  • Farouk faces threatening calls (supposedly from anti-terrorism police) warning him not to press his account further.
  • Farouk: “I saw him and he was watching me...how can I let it go?” (25:28)

• Journalistic Doubt & Responsibility:

  • Warner wrestles with the possibility Farouk misidentified someone, the moral hazard of his involvement, and the chilling effect of state intimidation.

6. Forensic Review of the Evidence

• Dan Reed’s Investigation:

  • Documentary filmmaker Dan Reed reviews over 2,000 hours of CCTV footage for his film Terror at the Mall.
  • Finding: Only four attackers, all male, Somali, no evidence of an escape.
  • Extra confusion was likely from police/security personnel or normal civilians running with weapons.
  • Dan Reed: “As we progressed further and further with our forensic analysis, it became harder and harder to give any credit to some of the wilder pieces of eyewitness [accounts].” (31:43)

• Why Eyewitnesses Differ:

  • Dan Reed and Warner theorize that trauma, fleeting impressions, and chaotic scenes lead to misattributions—like seeing a slender, “effeminate” gunman and assuming it’s a woman, or mistaking fleeing police for disguised terrorists.
  • Reed: “Facts don’t matter. It’s almost as if the facts don’t matter...” (35:06)

7. Unresolved Tension: Facts vs. Lived Experience

• Incompatibility:

  • The survivors’ certainty (“I know what I saw”) remains unshaken by official DNA, video, or investigative timelines.
  • Puni: “There’s a little glimmer of maybe that’s not the full story. I’m inclined to believe there were four, but then it’s like what I saw does not make sense and that I’ll never be able to really reconcile, and I just kind of have to leave it at that.” (37:40)

• Responsibility of Journalists:

  • Warner reflects on whether providing a neat, authoritative narrative serves truth, or if it risks abandoning the ambiguities and emotional realities of those who lived through the chaos.

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On the Inadequacy of Journalistic Certainty:

  • Greg Warner: “As a journalist, I feel like this story, it’s going to be a story where I’m going to have to stop being a journalist at some point.” (01:45)

• Eyewitness Doubt:

  • Puni: “Nothing adds up. You start to think, am I crazy? Is my mind playing tricks on me?” (11:59)

• On the Power of Certainty:

  • Dan Reed: “If you escape, you fail...there is a whole script for this kind of operation, and it ends with the death of the gunman.” (34:15)

• Fact vs. Emotional Trauma:

  • Robert Krulwich: “Maybe the facts aren’t enough. The facts need to make sense, especially for people who were there.” (36:44)
  • Puni: “For me, there’s still a little glimmer of maybe that’s not the full story...” (37:40)

Significant Timestamps

• 01:13 — The attack begins; initial reporting chaos
• 04:31 — Early eyewitness and media narratives (multi-ethnic attackers, “White Widow,” multiple escapees)
• 06:53 — FBI presents forensic findings: only four Somali attackers, none escaped
• 11:56 — Puni grapples with discrepancy between her memory and “official” truth
• 17:20 — Farouk’s story of seeing an “extra” terrorist and the consequences
• 23:45 — Police arrest a (likely innocent) suspect, later released
• 30:31 — Documentary filmmaker Dan Reed dissects 2,000+ hours of footage
• 32:00–36:00 — The puzzle of eyewitness error explained; failed police escape stories
• 37:40 — Emotional closure remains elusive for survivors

Episode Tone

Radiolab’s signature approach—empathetic, inquisitive, and honest—runs throughout. The hosts balance disbelief, gravity, and humility, ending on the sense that truth is sometimes messier than official accounts or cold facts can encompass.

Summary

"Outside Westgate" is a gripping and nuanced meditation on the complexities of violence, trauma, and the ever-shifting nature of “official” truth. Through meticulous investigation and deeply personal survivor stories, the episode challenges listeners to consider how stories are constructed—and reconsidered—long after the gunfire fades.