The High Court on Wednesday, July 31 ordered the government to compensate families of 148 students who died during the 2015 Garissa University terror attack.
A three-judge bench comprised of Justices Mugure Thande, Anthony Ndung’u, and Daniel Kemei directed the state to pay Sh 441 million with families of the victims receiving Sh 3 million each.
The judges also ordered the Kenyan government to pay Sh 56.9 million as compensation to survivors of the Garissa University terror attack.
The high court granted each of the 14 survivors varying compensation amounts based on the nature of the injury.
For instance, Rose Gikonyo who was a first-year student at Garissa University during the attack was awarded Sh 10 million for her severe injuries.
The attack, which was carried out by the Al-Shabaab, claimed the lives of 148 people, mostly students, and injured at least 79 others.
The gunmen took over 700 students hostage before being killed by security forces after a 15-hour siege.
The court documents highlighted that the Recce Squad arrived at the scene 12 hours after the attack had begun.
The Judges noted that the delay in deploying the Recce squad, a team that was ideal in such a situation, led to more deaths.
“It follows therefore, that the petitioners’ legitimate expectation was violated. Had the police conducted themselves in a more professional manner by being preventive, efficient and proactive, the attack would have been prevented or at the very least, the carnage minimised,” said the judges.
Kituo Cha Sheria had filed a petition in court accusing the government of failing to prioritize the deployment of police officers to ensure that there was adequate security within the school premises.
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