Kenya’s new Westgate mall opened with more security guards than shoppers

NAIROBI, Kenya — There are more security guards than shoppers wandering around Nairobi’s gleaming new Westgate mall.

Nearly two years after Al Shabaab gunmen laid siege to Westgate in one of Kenya’s worst terrorist attacks, the shopping center officially reopened this month with a ribbon-cutting ceremony — a sign of “resilience in the face of adversity,” the Nairobi governor declared.

It has a little ways to go yet. On a recent morning many shops were still “opening soon,” and the mall’s food court — which includes KFC and Subway — echoed with the sound of hammering as workers put the final touches on a $19-million rebuild.

But despite the tragedy at Westgate, which saw 67 people killed and parts of the mall destroyed in a terrifying four-day siege, there is little doubt here that the shoppers will return.

“I’m sure Kenyans will go to Westgate,” said Aly-Khan Satchu, a Nairobi investment and financial analyst. “People here have very short memories.”

A view inside the Westgate mall after it reopened on July 18.

It also helps that Kenya's retail sector is “doing gangbusters,” as Satchu puts it, bolstered by the country's young, aspirational population and a growing middle class with disposable incomes.

Large retailers — both Kenyan and foreign — are competing for space to open shops, and new malls are rushing to complete construction.

In addition to Westgate, which has re-launched with nearly all of its original tenants plus additional shop space, there’s Garden City, a slick, upscale shopping center that opened in late May along a major highway on the outskirts of Nairobi.

Garden City, which calls itself the largest mall in East Africa, is the first presence in Kenya for the American retail giant Walmart, via its “Game" store under South African subsidiary Massmart.

Two other major malls are in the pipeline for Nairobi, including one called Two Rivers Lifestyle that will usurp Garden City and become the biggest mall in sub-Saharan Africa, outside of South Africa. French retailer Carrefour will be the anchor tenant in both of these new malls. 

While Kenya’s economy has been slowed by the effects of terror attacks, in particular on tourism, it is still expected to expand by between 6 and 7 percent this year.

According to Euromonitor, a market research firm, consumer spending is being helped by rapid urbanization, rising disposable incomes and Kenyan consumer demand for greater convenience.

“The retail industry remains vibrant, with supermarket chains expanding beyond Kenya’s boundaries,” a Euromonitor report says.

In Nairobi, billboards promote the Westgate mall as “a new dawn, a new experience.”

Security remains a major concern. Like at other new malls, as well as major hotels, visitors entering Westgate must first pass a gauntlet of checks including airport-style screening.

Employees of a private security company with a sniffer dog inspect cars outside the Westgate shopping mall after it reopened on July 18, 2015 in Nairobi.

An Israeli firm is in charge of security operations, which also includes explosives detectors, scanners to check underneath cars for bombs, and bulletproof guard towers.

Samuel Otiende, 32, a businessman shopping at the Nakumatt department store — the mall’s flagship tenant — said he considers Westgate to be the safest place to shop.

"I think this is the last place they can think about coming now because they know security is so tight,” he said, reflecting on the Al Shabaab threat.

Uhuru Kenyatta, the Kenyan president, has praised Westgate's transformation from “an emblem of extremist violence and terrorism” to a symbol of national strength.

“You are aware, nearly two years ago the Westgate mall in Nairobi was the scene of a heartbreaking act of criminal brutality," he said during last week's Global Entrepreneurship Summit in Nairobi, standing alongside US President Barack Obama.

“I am proud to inform you that a week ago, it reopened,” he said, to thunderous applause. “Its flagship store proceeded to record more sales on the first day than on any other in the mall’s history.”