By M'moh Kabaty
More often than not, we get to witness cases of unsung heroes and heroines. Very rarely do we get to encounter cases of vilified heroes and/or heroines. It is very heart wrecking when it does happen. But if the vilification is annulled and the hero status recognized, then it not only helps avoid the villain stigmatization but it is also gratifying.
This was the exact scenario after the terrorists siege of the Westgate Mall in Nairobi's suburb of Westlands. The person unfortunate enough to have encountered inauspicious treatment was no other than one lady by the name Henna.
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| Heroic Henna and a rescuer help an injured lady (middle) |
After spending a few hours hiding from the gun-totting criminals with her two children and other survivors, a rescue team eventually got to them. As they were being whisked away to safety from the mall, Henna saw a wounded woman who lay on the floor. While everyone was keen to run to safety, Henna took a moment to stop, help the lady to her feet and hold her. Together they got out of the mall. She never worried that the less mobile state of the lady would slow her down as she escaped from the building. She courageously put herself in that risk and decided to slowly make her way out while everyone ran for their dear lives.
Unfortunately as she was making her way out of the building, cameras captured her and one of the resulting shots would be her beginning of stigmatization. Days after the siege, speculation was rife that the comander in charge of the terrorist group could have been a lady of British national popularly referred to as the "White Widow'. This was after she was widowed when her husband Jermaine Lindsay blew himself up in a London terror attack. Samantha Lewthwaite, her real name, would then relocate to the Horn of Africa years later and join the Harakat al Shabaab al Mujahideen terror network where she'd be fondly referred to as the 'White Sister' or Sherafiyah.
In the height of the siege, pictures of Samantha were doing rounds both in the media houses and social media. The moment the picture of Henna helping an injured lady with the help of a rescuer became public, physical resemblance to Samantha were quickly drawn. Within no time, like bushfire, the social media was awash that Samantha Lewthwaite had escaped from the mall pretending to be a victim. Henna's picture was tweeted and re-tweeted and posted all over Facebook and other social networks.
It was not until some of her work colleagues initially identified her as a Sales and Marketing Manager in company within the city. This would later be confirmed by prolific NTV Swahili News reporter and anchor Jamila Mohamed. Jamila was able to track Henna down and interview her; and she told the world her side of the story. Clearly Henna was no Samantha, their lives are world apart. It had been a classic case of mistaken identity.
All the world can do now is assist this lady to be remembered as a heroine who put her life in danger to help save a precious life; and not as the lady who was mistaken for a world renowned and sort-after terrorist. We at UnitedPeacefulAfrica wish Henna well and congratulate her for her heroic acts.
Twitter: @MmohKabati
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