Garissa University Terror Attack Victims Sue State

Former students of Garissa University are suing the government for compensation. The 14 ex-students were victims in the terror attack at the Garissa University college in 2015. They want the court to rule that the government failed to take the necessary precautions to prevent the attack.

The victims who were injured in the attack, are being supported by lobby group, Kituo cha Sheria. They also want the court to determine that the government failed to support escape and rescue efforts, and as a result, the jihadist group Al-Shabaab injured them.

The April 3, 2015 attack left 148 people dead, most of them being students.

According to the group, the government failed to take precaution despite the availability of adequte information and intelligence about a possible attack.

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“On April 1, 2015 some students received SMS messages indicating an impending terror attack [but] the university administration dismissed [them] as rumours and April 1 Fool’s Day pranks,” reads the petition. This was two days before the attack.

The petitioners claim that their constitutional rights were violated by the government and are suing the Garissa University, the Attorney General, the Police Inspector General, and the Cabinet Secretaries for Education, Interior, and Defense.

“To date, I use a wheelchair to help me move around and I am unable to carry out activities like walking, standing and other activities that require use of the lower limbs due to the paralysis of the lower limbs,” says Rachael Munjiru, who suffered permanent disability after suffering a spinal injury when she was shot several times in the back and legs in her affidavit.

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“After the attack, my life completely changed from an independent person to a person who depends on people’s mercy to survive and it has been such a painful life since then.”

They ask the court to rule that the State is accountable for preventing and combating terrorism as well as for safeguarding citizens from terrorist acts.