Piracy at Lowest Level in Six Years; Westgate Trial Commences in Kenya

Piracy at sea is at its lowest level in six years, with 264 attacks recorded, a 40% drop since Somali piracy peaked in 2011.

The drop in worldwide piracy attacks has greatly been due to the dramatic drop of incidents recorded in waters off Somalia.  In 2013, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) reported fifteen incidents off Somalia.  According to its records, this is down from 75 in 2012 and 237 in 2011.  The increase of armed guards on vessels, coupled with international navy patrols and the “stabilizing influence” of Somalia’s government have aided in deterring pirate.   According to Pottengal Mukundan, IMB’s director, “the single biggest reason for the drop in worldwide piracy is the decrease in Somali piracy off the coast of East Africa,” adding that “it is imperative to continue combined international efforts to tackle Somali piracy.  Any complacency at this stage could re-kindle pirate activity.”

The IMB’s annual global piracy report has indicated that more than 300 people were taken hostage at sea in 2013 and 21 were injured, nearly all with guns or knives.

Examining global piracy figures, Indonesia witnessed the most pirate attacks last year, accounting for more than 50 of all reported incidents.  However it must be noted that attacks in waters of Indonesia were “low-level opportunistic thefts, not to be compared with the more serious incidents off Africa.”  Piracy off West Africa made up 19% of attacks worldwide in 2013.  According to the IMB report, Nigerian pirates accounted for 31 of the region’s 51 attacks.  These attacks were “particularly violent,” with one crew member killed, and thirty-six people kidnapped and held onshore for ransom.

In November 2013, a United Nations and World Bank report indicated that pirates operating off the Horn of Africa, which are some of the world’s busiest shipping and humanitarian aid routes, had netted more than US $400 million (£251 million) in ransom money between 2005 and 2012.

Meanwhile in neighboring Kenya, the trial of four men charged over the Westgate shopping centre siege began in Kenya’s capital Nairobi.

The four suspected foreigners have denied the charges of aiding a “terrorist group,” and of being in Kenya illegally.  However none of the  men – named as Mohammed Ahmed Abdi, Liban Abdullah, Adnan Ibrahim, and Hussein Hassan – have been accused of being the gunmen who carried out the attack.  While their nationalities have not been disclosed, they are said to be ethnic Somalis.

Police officials in Kenya have also indicated that the four accused had sheltered the attackers in their homes in Eastleigh a Somali neighbourhood in Nairobi, and that they were in contact with the gunmen four days prior to the siege being carried out.

During the first day of the trial, the court heard testimony from security guards who saw what happened when the gunmen launched the attack in September 2013, killing at least sixty-seven people.  During his testimony, guard Stephen Juma told the court that he had been directing traffic outside the upmarket shopping centre when a car pulled up and three men jumped out.  According to Mr Juma, one of them immediately shot dead a shopper, adding that “I began to hear gunshots, I made a radio call for help while running to the main entrance.”  Mr Juma further noted that he could not identify any of the gunmen as their heads and faces had been covered with black headscarves.

The four are the first to be charged over the attack, which was the worst in Kenya since 224 people were killed in the 1998 bombing of the US embassy.  Reports have indicated that around forty witnesses are expected to give evidence at the trial, which is likely to last around a week.

Somalia’s al-Qaeda-linked al-Shabaab confirmed days after the siege at they were behind the attack, indicating that one of its suicide brigades carried out the siege.  Although al-Shabaab is fighting for the creation of an Islamic state in Somalia, the militant group has on numerous occasions carried out attacks in neighboring Kenya in a bid to avenge the presence of Kenyan troops in Somalia to bolster the UN-backed central government.