First Lady Margaret Kenyatta says terrorists will never break Kenyans

Kenya began emotional commemorations to mark the first anniversary of the bloody four-day siege at Westgate Mall in Nairobi, during which at least 67 people were killed.

First Lady Margaret Kenyatta who reiterated that the attack seriously scarred the country said Kenyans would not be cowed by such acts of cowardice.

"This is a time that brings much pain and sorrow to many, and is still a time of healing, we having also lost members of our family in this senseless massacre. The nation may have been seriously scarred but we shall never be broken as a people. Our resilience is unconquerable,"  she said.

Speaking during the opening of a commemorative exhibition, the First Lady urged Kenyans to continue helping each other heal the wounds. "The unity we show in times of crisis should not be forgotten. We should always be our brother's keeper," she said.

The First Lady's nephew and his fiancee were among those who lost their lives during the attack.

On September 21 last year, unidentified gunmen attacked the mall and shot at scores of people in cold blood. Gurdial Ghataurha, a plumbing contractor in Nairobi recounted how he found his wife and his 17-year-old grandson lying in a pool of blood at the rooftop where there was a cooking competition for children.  "She was shot six times when she stood up and tried to talk to the gunmen to stop shooting children. My grandson was shot in the stomach and he too died on the spot. It has been so difficult to cope with the loss."

The National Museum opened a commemorative exhibition that is showing emotional films, which include testimonies of those caught up in the attack including families of the dead, rescuers and workers at the mall. The names of victims written on a scroll that hung from a wall was also read out at the memorial. The First Lady lit a candle in memory of families who lost their loved ones during the attack, which will burn during the week long exhibition.