Kenyan university rampage still haunts
A year after militants massacred 148, fearful survivors remain wary
NAIROBI, Kenya — Annita Musyoka, a student who survived the Garissa University attack by militants a year ago, still hears the sound of gunshots ringing in her ears.
Although she now studies far from her former school in eastern Kenya, the massacre still haunts her.
“It was a terrifying moment,” said Musyoka, 22. “All my roommates were killed by the militants. There were sounds of guns all over. I was the only person in my room who survived the attack after hiding inside a suitcase.”
Musyoka, like many of the other surviviors, now attends Moi University in Eldoret in western Kenya. Even though Garissa reopened in January, most non-Muslim students opted to leave: The killers targeted Christians in their assault.
One year after the Islamic militant group al- Shabab mounted one of the most deadly terror attacks ever to happen here, this East African country is still combating extremism and dealing with the aftershocks — while preparing for the next attack.
After al- Shabab killed 148 students and staff at Garissa on April 2, 2015, many students opted to move out of the region. At the same time, Garissa is building a stronger perimeter wall to safeguard the campus in the future. And they hold drills — staging mock terrorist attacks — to ensure preparedness.
These drills are controversial, and sometimes, they backfire — rather than following directions, students often run amok. Three students in recent months died when they thought a real attack was occurring. Two jumped from high windows, while a stampede of students crushed one student.
“When this happens, most students think it’s a real attack,” said Joshua Wekesa, a student at Nairobi’s Strathmore University, who was injured during a mock terror drill. “Most of them are terrified.”
That’s because the al- Qaeda-linked group continues to launch fatal attacks along the Somali border and the northern part of Kenya’s coastline before retreating into hideouts in the Boni forest, a remote area known for its elephants.
The cumulative effect of recent deaths on the coast, the Garissa massacre and the 2013 Westgate Mall attack that killed 67 has severely undermined people’s confidence in the Kenyan government, said Peter Wafula Wekesa, a political scientist at Kenyatta University.
“It made Kenyans aware of the folly of the security apparatuses in the country, which are inept, inefficient and reactionary,” Wekesa said. “At the very least, Kenyans are now more alive to the fact that they are on their own on matters of security since they can’t trust the government to provide the same.”
Eldoret Police Commissioner Abdi Hassan said he was most hopeful about a nationwide program to train student leaders to help stop their Muslim peers from becoming terrorists.
“We are committed to fighting terrorism by ensuring that all students in universities are not radicalized by these terror groups,” Hassan said. “We are offering lessons to help them reject any attempt to be radicalized.”
Still, in spite of the drills, beefed-up security and de-radicalization programs, Musyoka says she fears that another attack could happen at her new school.
“When I hear a bang or an explosion within the school compound, I panic,” Musyoka said. “My heart begins to pound. I live in fear of attack. I want to finish my studies and get out of this place.”
At Garissa, students and staff were honoring the victims of the attacks with a series of events Saturday, including interfaith prayer sessions.
“We want to remember our students who perished during the attack,” said Garissa University Principal Ahmed Warfa. “This was the lowest moment of my life. The incident will remain deep in our hearts as teachers for as long as we live because we lost our beloved, innocent students.”