Update: Kenya Terror victims’ family speaks of shock

Zahira and her daughter were killed during the terrorist attack on the Westgate shopping centre in Nairobi on Saturday.

Speaking at her Leamington home Shakautla Bawa, 63, great aunt to Jenah, eight, and aunt to Jenah’s father and Zahira’s husband Louis - all formerly of Leam Terrace - said they were told the terrible news by a friend after they had seen reports of the incident.

Shakautla said: “Louis’ friend told us they’re both gone.

“Whoever knew them is shocked, everybody is shocked.

”We are all very upset and we all just want to be left in peace.

“We never expected something like this would ever happen to our family, no one does, they were both beautiful people.”

Jenah was born in Leamington but moved to Kenya with her mother and father several years ago.

In an interview with a national newspaper Louis, who had waited outside the shopping centre on Sunday for news of his family, said his wife and daughter were both Muslims but were killed by “animals” who were “using religion as an excuse to kill people”.

He added; “They’re saying that they were targeting certain people, but they were targeting anyone”.

Louis, who took a job as the chief executive of a marketing company in Dubai and began commuting to his family in Nairobi at weekends, said he last spoke to Zahira and Jenah on Friday but had no chance to catch up with them on Saturday morning.

He said: “The last time I spoke to them was on Friday evening, I didn’t get a chance to catch up with them on Saturday morning. They were going to Westgate to do what they always did, grocery shopping. This time they didn’t come home.“I think our last conversation was about just normal things, school fees, something like that, I can’t remember.

“I don’t know exactly what happened but it looks to me that they were gunned down. They were just shot.”

The siege at the shopping centre finally came to an end on Tuesday, with five militants killed by Kenyan soldiers and 11 taken into custody.

As it stands, 67 people have died.

Six Britons have been confirmed as among the dead but this figure could rise.

Another 63 people have been listed as missing by the Kenyan Red Cross.

A Foreign Office spokesman has said the UK is doing everything possible to support Kenya in bringing those responsible to justice.