9 years on: Kenya remembers Garissa University terror victims

By Moses Muli

Published: April 2,2024 3:05 PM

Kenya marked nine years since terrorists raided Garissa University and left 148 people, the majority of them students, dead.

There were low-key activities at the university and in Nairobi where government officials marked the day.

Officials from the National Counter Terrorism Center led multi-agency teams at the institution to mark the event at the university as Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki held a meeting of the first National Border Management Conference in Nairobi.

Its theme was “building on coordination and moving towards integration.”

He said the multi-agency approach had enhanced coordination among law enforcement agencies, resulting in better identification and response to various threats, including cross-border crimes.

Officials aware of the situation said the country is generally safe due to ongoing operations targeting terror gangs.

“Their activities have been defused in operations that have seen some killed and weapons recovered. We march on,” said an official aware of the situation.

The official said the government has employed several tactics in the efforts to tame any plans to have a similar situation.

Early morning of April 2, 2015, four al Shabab militants staged an attack at the university and by the time the siege ended after 12 hours, 148 students lay dead.

The attack took place as the students were getting ready for morning prayers when the shooting began at about 05:00 local time.

Gunmen first killed two security guards at the gate before entering the campus and opening fire.

They moved through administrative buildings and classrooms to the dormitories. Almost 900 students were at the university.

Security agencies sealed off the campus and moved in to evacuate students.

The troops managed to clear three of the four dormitories, helping more than 580 people to escape.

At least 79 people were injured.

After almost 16 hours, the four attackers were eventually surrounded and killed in one of the women’s halls.

Since the attack took place, Kenya’s security agencies have also revamped their operations to better curb and prevent terrorism on our soil.

This includes the strengthening of multi-Agency security operations between the National Intelligence Service and Kenya Defense Forces, the formation of specialized police units at the border (SOG, QRU), and heavy investment in community-led approaches like Community Policing and Nyumba Kumi, to eliminate potential recruitment.

The agencies are also relying on among others technology to fight the plans of the terror gangs.

After the implementation of recommendations from security agencies, including the construction of a perimeter wall and a police post within the institution, the university re-opened.

Security officials say the university is now one of the most secure institutions of higher learning in the region with a fully-fledged police station being established therein.

It has 24-hour CCTV surveillance and a razor wire perimeter wall around the institution.

Officials say the university is also part of an initiative namely ‘neighbors watch’, a nyumba kumi initiative that makes communities around the university security conscious and report any suspicious characters around the institution.