All AU students currently studying abroad in Nairobi, Kenya were reported safe after an attack on a Kenyan shopping mall left 39 dead.
The program’s on-site staff called each of the 24 AU students currently in Nairobi to confirm their safety, Valerie Gecowets, a junior in the School of International Service said.
“Because of the suddenness of the situation, some of us actually knew about it before the staff did,” Gecowets said. “But our on-site staff was immediately in contact with everyone as soon as they got word of the situation.”
AU Abroad issued a temporary lockdown, advising students not to go into the city until Sunday so AU staff can discuss the situation, according to Gecowets.
“Though it’s not the most common shopping center for us to go to, students have definitely gone from time to time,” she said.
Some students live within a 20-minute walk of the Westgate Mall, where the attack took place, according to Gecowets.
Students continue to be in contact with Yolande Bouka, interim director of the program, and Victor Mwanza, security director of the program. Bouka and Mwanza emailed students’ families and emergency contacts to confirm their safety, but students themselves did not receive the email, Gecowets said.
Bouka and Mwanza could not be reached for comment in time of publication.
SIS senior Mica Brenman said she also heard no AU students were hurt in the attack from an AU student who spoke with Mwanza.
Somalian Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group Al-Shabaab tweeted the group was responsible for the attack on the shopping mall, according to reports from CNN. As of now, 39 people are confirmed dead and 150 are confirmed injured with 36 hostages still in the mall but exact numbers are not yet known, according to the article.
“I know the situation has not definitively been concluded, but it’s unclear as to whether or not there are still hostages in the mall,” Gecowets said. “There’s been a lot of confusion since the attack began.”
