Garissa University reopens nine months after deadliest terror attack

Garissa University reopens nine months after deadliest terror attack

The Garissa University College has opened its doors nine months after the deadliest terror attack that left at least 148 people dead and over 60 others injured.

The university, which is the first and only in Kenya’s northern frontier, reopened nine months after the attack by the Islamist militants linked to the Al Shabaab terror group.

Most of staff members have already reported to work while students and the academic staff are expected back on Monday, January 4th, 2016.

In what has been seen as bolstering of security at the university, a police post has been set up in the campus and a thorough security check is being conducted at the entrance.

The April attack was the deadliest in Kenya by the Al Shabaab militants.

Following the attack, the university was closed down and the more than 650 students who survived the attack were transferred to the Moi University Main Campus in Eldoret, the parent campus to Garissa University.

Authorities, however, say the students who survived the attack, will not go back to Garissa University College.

Early December, Deputy President William Ruto announced that the government will soon re-open Garissa University following its closure in April last year after the terror attack.

Speaking during a tour of the institution, Ruto reaffirmed the government’s commitment to ensure that learning resumes at the institution, saying that the incident strengthened the resolve to fight against terrorism and the nation’s unity.

“As government, we will not play into the hands of Al Shabaab and, if anything, the incident has strengthened our resolve as Kenyans to fight terrorism and we are now more united than ever as a nation,” noted the DP.

After the attack, the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinett said that the gunmen gained access into the institution using the main gate where they shot the guards manning the entrance and followed to shoot indiscriminately inside the institution’s compound.

Boinett added that police officers within the college responded swiftly engaging the attackers in a fierce exchange. The attackers, however, retreated and gained entry into the hostels.

The siege ended the same day at around 5PM when the elite Recce Squad officers gunned down all the four attackers.

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