NAIROBI, Kenya – Media personality Shiksha Arora has reflected on surviving the 2013 Westgate Mall terrorist attack, 13 years after the tragedy claimed the lives of dozens of people in Nairobi.
Arora shared a series of videos and messages on Monday, September 21, 2026, marking the anniversary of the attack and remembering those who never made it out of the shopping mall alive.
She described September 21, 2013, as a day that permanently changed her life and the lives of many others who experienced the attack.
“13 years ago on this very day, I was at the Westgate Mall when we were attacked by terrorists, that is, Al-Shabaab. Life has never been the same ever since,” Arora said.
The former media personality said she remains grateful for surviving the attack and having the opportunity to continue with her life, while acknowledging the pain carried by families who lost loved ones.
“I truly thank God to be able to tell the story, to be able to live 13 years on and, you know, do all these amazing things that I’ve managed to do in my life,” she said.
Arora said the anniversary also reminded her of the people who were at Westgate with her but did not survive. She specifically remembered Rohila Adatia-Sood, the East FM presenter who was killed during the attack. Adatia-Sood was among those at the mall’s rooftop area for a children’s cooking competition when the attack began.
Arora said she had been with Adatia-Sood at the cooking competition that day.
“Because if my life was cut short on that particular day, like so many other people who I knew, for example, Rohila Datia-Soud, who were with that specific day. We were together at the cooking competition for East FM,” she recalled.
Her remembrance comes as Kenyans mark 13 years since armed Al-Shabaab militants stormed Westgate Mall on September 21, 2013. The attackers opened fire and threw grenades at shoppers and other people inside the mall, triggering a siege that lasted about 80 hours. At least 67 people died in the attack, while many others sustained injuries.
For Arora, surviving the attack has shaped the way she views the years that followed.
She described her survival as an opportunity to live again, noting that many of the people who were at Westgate that day never received the same opportunity.
“I’m so blessed, I’m so lucky that I got the opportunity to do life again. I got a second chance at life, but so many others didn’t ever make it out alive,” she said.
Arora also used the anniversary to send a message to families who lost relatives during the attack and to other people whose lives changed because of the tragedy.
She acknowledged that grief does not simply disappear with the passage of time.
“I want to tell you that I understand the feeling of loss. It truly never goes away. It’s been 13 years, and to date every September, we still have this emptiness every year,” she said.
She urged people to remember the victims through their names, stories and the impact they had on the people around them.
“I want to remember the people who lost their lives through their names, their stories, the impact that they’ve had on people’s lives, the lives that they’ve touched, and the truly amazing memories that we’ve been left with,” she said.
Arora also acknowledged the other survivors who, like her, left the mall alive but had to continue living with what they witnessed.
“Not everybody who went into Westgate Mall 13 years ago made it out alive, and for those of us who survived, we truly understand what it means to get a second chance to life,” she said.
The anniversary has continued to serve as a moment of remembrance for the 67 people who lost their lives and the many others affected by the attack.
Arora concluded her message by focusing on the value she places on life after surviving the attack. She encouraged people to treat one another with kindness and compassion while recognising the privilege of being alive.
“But this life is truly a blessing, and the fact that we’re here, we’re healthy, we’re living, we’re alive,” she said.
She added: “So let’s just continue being kind towards each other. Let’s continue being compassionate towards each other, and let’s continue try and do our level best to make this world a better place.”
