EA terrorism: Was Westgate top suspect in Dar es Salaam?

Samantha Lewthwaite (pictured) is British woman-turned-jihadist who is wanted by Interpol on several charges related to terrorism. PHOTO | AFP 

By The Citizen Reporters

Posted  Friday, November 8  2013 at  23:00

In Summary

Independent inquiries suggest there could be more than meets the eye in the saga--from the time the purported Briton was arrested at Exim Towers to her activities in the country.

Dar es Salaam. Questions have arisen about the real identity of a woman who was arrested in Dar es Salaam over terror suspicions only to be released by police on October 2.

The whereabouts of the unnamed woman remain a mystery since she walked out of Central Police Station in the city.

Dar es Salaam Special Police Zone Commander Suleiman Kova, who set her free, says the woman was British and had been mistaken for Most Wanted terror suspect Samantha Lewthwaite, alias the White Widow.

But what started as the simple pursuit of a human interest story on her ordeal has left more questions than answers about her identity.

Lewthwaite is British woman-turned-jihadist who is wanted by Interpol on several charges related to terrorism.

The International Police Organisation issued the red notice against her on September 23 at Kenya’s request after she was named as one of the masterminds of the deadly Westgate mall attack in Nairobi on September 21.

Some 67 people were shot dead and hundreds of others injured during the mall siege carried out by Somali-based Al-Shabaab militiamen with links to the notorious Al Qaeda terror network.

Lewthwaite was married to Germaine Lindsay, one of the four suicide bombers involved in the July 7 terror attacks in London in 2005 in which 52 people were killed.

According to Mr Kova, the woman who was mistaken for the runaway widow was released unconditionally after the police established she was a British citizen living with her husband in the city.

Kova also told The Citizen on Saturday last week that the woman’s identity and her whereabouts could not be made public because she was innocent.

He told this newspaper that an interview with her was out of the question. “No, we can’t disclose her identity because she has committed no crime,” he added. “She also doesn’t want coverage and she has the right to decide so.”

But independent inquiries suggest there could be more than meets the eye in the saga--from the time she was arrested at Exim Towers to her activities in the country.

Read More: The Citizen