Poorly paid Kenyan security forces that moved in to control an emergency are being accused of robbing the very property they were supposed to protect.

After almost a week, there is no precise death toll, no word on the fate of dozens still missing and no details on the al-Qaeda-linked terrorists who attacked Nairobi's most upscale mall.

Three plainclothes Kenyan police officers, lightly armed and wearing no bulletproof vests, helmets or other protective gear, worked their way to the roof of Nairobi's Westgate Mall and led a group of frightened shoppers to safety.

An unknown number of hostages are still being held by gunmen at a Kenyan mall, after an attack that killed 39 and injured dozens, including a New Zealander.

Terrified shoppers, including one reported New Zealander, huddled in back hallways and prayed the militant gunmen lobbing grenades and firing assault rifles inside Nairobi's top mall would not find them.