In the aftermath of the Kenyan tragedy various unconfirmed
reports have pointed accusing fingers at one Samantha Lewthaite, the widow of
Jermaine Lindsay, one of the bombers suspected of being behind the London
bombings of July 7 2005.
There is yet no conclusive evidence that she knew anything
about the attack before it took place let alone mastermind it. In an editorial column
in the I, Independent’s sister newspaper, journalists were cautioned against
jumping into conclusions about her involvement as no evidence “that could stand
up to a court scrutiny” has been brought against her. This is very true and journalists
are supposed to report verified facts not conjectures and opinions.
We hope the same message applies to the Mirror that reported
in their 24th September 2013 issue that “reports indicate” the said
Samantha Lewthaite was arrested in Nigeria earlier but was released after
bribing her way out. The report even went to describe the state of corruption
in Nigeria. What the reporter was trying to infer is that if not for the
corruption in Nigeria the Kenyan atrocities could have been prevented. Nothing
could be further from the truth.
We await independent confirmation of this arrest of the
suspected terrorist in Nigeria but we believe it will never come.
It’s yet to be determined what game the Mirror is playing
with that report, sowing seeds of discord between Kenyans and Nigerians, lamenting
the loss of British lives and blaming it on Nigeria or just plain old
irresponsible journalism.
It appears British tabloid press has been starved of stories
ever since the hacking scandals and have resorted to manufacturing facts to
fill up column spaces now.
It would be good to get an apology from the Mirror if the
story cannot be independently verified and if it is we will be the ones who
would issue an apology for this post.
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