First responders to Kenya airport fire looted bank, ATM, electronics <http://www.thecanadianpress.com/> Description: The Canadian PressBy Jason Straziuso And Tom Odula, The Associated Press | The Canadian Press 2 hours 3 minutes ago
NAIROBI, Kenya - Officials in Kenya investigating the massive airport fire
that gutted the arrival hall at Nairobi's main airport said Thursday that
first responders looted electronics, a bank and an ATM during and after the
blaze.
The officials said first responders stole electronics and money from an ATM.
Another official said that police guarding the site overnight attempted to a
take a safe from a bank in the burned-out arrivals hall, which also houses
several foreign currency exchange shops.
All four officials who described the alleged looting are close to the
investigation. They insisted on anonymity because they weren't authorized to
share the information before the investigation is complete.
The fire-fighting response to Wednesday's inferno was criticized as slow and
inadequate, but the officials could not definitely say the looting was
carried out by firefighters. One official said there was now
behind-the-scenes finger pointing taking place between the police, fire
department and army. Another official said specialized police units had
attempted to steal the safe overnight.
The criminal investigations policeman for the airport, Joseph Ngisa, said he
hasn't received formal complaints of theft and that police are waiting for
affected institutions to report what they lost in the fire.
All public servants in Kenya, including police, firefighters and soldiers,
are poorly paid and frequently accused of corruption. Police officers who
guard the entrance to Jomo Kenyatta International Airport are well known in
Nairobi for demanding bribes from taxi drivers and other vehicles with
Kenyan drivers.
International flights, meanwhile, resumed Thursday as officials improvised
immigration and luggage routines.
Kenyan officials, assisted by members of the FBI, investigated the cause of
the fire. One of the security officials who spoke to AP said the
investigation had ruled out terrorism and was now trying to determine if the
fire was intentional or accidental.
Michael Kamau, the cabinet secretary for transport and infrastructure, said
Kenyan officials were receiving assistance from international agencies
"because we intend to carry out a full investigation on what happened
yesterday." One of the officials who spoke to AP confirmed that members of
the FBI were assisting.
Kamau said the design of the airport constructed in the mid-1970s made
it challenging for firefighters to access certain areas with water hoses.
Kamau said he was "satisfied" by the response of firefighters from private
companies but did not mention the airport firefighters, who responded slowly
and whose equipment wasn't fully functioning.
Jomo Kenyatta International Airport is East Africa's largest aviation hub,
and the fire disrupted air travel across the continent as the airport
cancelled all international flights Wednesday. Many inbound flights were
diverted to Tanzania and the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa. Domestic
flights were being operated from the airport's cargo terminal.
Firefighters were desperately short of equipment Wednesday. The airport has
fire trucks but some were not filled with water and personnel couldn't be
found to drive others. At one point while battling the blaze men in
government uniforms lined up to pass buckets of water to fight the fire.
No serious injuries were reported.
President Barack Obama called Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta to offer U.S.
support. The fire broke out on the 15th anniversary of U.S. Embassy bombings
in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people in total, mostly Kenyans, but
also a dozen Americans.
Nairobi is the capital of East Africa's largest economy, but public-sector
services such as police and fire departments are hobbled by small budgets,
corrupt money managers and outdated equipment or an absence of equipment.
Thé Mulindwas Communication Group
"With Yoweri Museveni and Dr. Kiiza Besigye Uganda is in anarchy"
Kuungana Mulindwa Mawasiliano Kikundi
"Pamoja na Yoweri Museveni na Dk. Kiiza Besigye Uganda ni katika machafuko"
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