SA dad dies in Kenya

A Cape Town family is grieving the loss of a husband and father in the weekend's terror attack in Kenya.

It is not known how many South Africans were injured or were in the Westgate Mall in Nairobi at the time of Saturday's attack.

By last night, 68 people had been confirmed killed when 10 to 15 gunmen - apparently from the Somalian Muslim extremist group Al-Shabab - opened fired at random on shoppers. More than 200 people were injured.

James Thomas, 57, a training consultant from Cape Town, was confirmed killed, along with two Canadians (one a diplomat), two French people, three Britons, two Indian citizens, a Dutch national, a Ghanaian diplomat.

Celebrated Ghanaian poet Kofi Awoonor was also among the victims.

South Africa's High Commissioner to Kenya, Ratubatsi Moloi said yesterday "lots of people" were still trapped in the mall.

"We have identified South Africans we are in touch with," he told the eNCA news channel by telephone.

Clayson Monyela, spokesman for the Department of International Relations and Cooperation, however, said only three South Africans had been in the mall at the time of the attack. "Two were freed and one man was killed," he said.

Thomas, part of a group of South Africans training young entrepreneurs in Kenya, was shopping with colleagues in a supermarket in the Westgate Mall on Saturday.

He had wandered off "just a little" when the gunmen attacked, said Thomas's pastor at St Peter's church in Cape Town, David Meldrum.

Yesterday morning, one of Thomas's colleagues had identified his body at a morgue. He had died from a gunshot wound.

Meldrum, acting as spokesman for the family, said Thomas's wife, Colleen, and their children - two daughters and a foster son - were "in shock".

"He was an extreme extrovert, fun-loving, a people's person who liked to see the best in others to help them develop their potential," said Meldrum. "He wanted people to be the best they could be. He could not tolerate unemployment for himself or for others and wanted people to find their purpose and their calling.

''He had a real vision to see people, through their own potential and ability, work their way to something better."

Meldrum said Thomas's colleagues in Nairobi were all "fine".

Another South African family, from Touwsrivier in Western Cape, fled the besieged mall unharmed.

Jako and Karin Hugo had been celebrating their son Maureece's 13th birthday there. Yesterday, Jako posted a photograph of Maureece on Facebook with a post that read: "Maureece at Planet Yogurt in Westgate mall in Nairobi yesterday for his birthday just before gunmen walked in and started killing people randomly. We got out safely after some hours of hiding, praise God. Please pray for the families of the deceased and the people that are still trapped inside now."

The mall, in one of the wealthiest parts of Nairobi, is patronised by most expatriates, UN staff and diplomats in the city. South African companies, including Mr Price Home, Woolworths, and the Edgars group's Identity, have stores there.

The attack started at about noon on Saturday with men, armed with automatic assault rifles and hand grenades, shooting at shoppers.

Twitter accounts belonging to Al-Shabab quickly claimed responsibility. These were soon shut down by Twitter. Two of the tweets said: @HSM_Press We have waged war against Kenyans in our land, now it's time to shift battleground & take war to their land #Westgate Shabab on Twitter MT@HSM_Press Attack at #Westgate is tiny fraction of what Muslims in Somalia experience at hands of Kenyan invaders.

After a tense all-day stand-off yesterday, explosions could be heard inside the mall as Kenyan security forces moved in, aided by Israeli security personnel. The gunmen were said to be holed up in a single room, protected by bullet-proof glass windows.

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said swift action would be taken against those responsible for the attack: "They shall not get away with their despicable, beastly acts. Like the cowardly perpetrators now cornered in the building, we will punish the masterminds swiftly and painfully," he said.

President Jacob Zuma expressed his shock at the "terrorist attack", conveyed his condolences to the family of the deceased and wished the injured a speedy recovery.

"South Africa continues to support Kenya's and the international community's efforts aimed at peacekeeping, stability, democracy and nation-building in Somalia," said Zuma.

"Terrorism in any form and from whichever quarter cannot be condoned," he said.