The High Court has ordered the state to pay nearly half a billion shillings in compensation to the families of the 148 students who lost their lives in the 2015 Garissa University College attack.
Nine years later, each family will receive Kes.3 million as part of this settlement.
The court also awarded varying compensation amounts to the 14 individuals injured in the attack, who filed the case alongside Kituo Cha Sheria. The compensation amounts were based on the severity of their injuries.
One of the notable cases is that of Rose Gikonyo, who received Kes.10 million. At the time of the attack, Gikonyo was a first-year student at Garissa University College, pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Education (Science). She was rescued by the Kenya Red Cross and AMREF at around 12:00 pm, over six hours after being shot.
Evidence presented in court showed that Gikonyo was hospitalized for about three months and later underwent six months of rehabilitation for her injuries.
The judges, Mugure Thande, Anthony Ndung’u, and Daniel Kemei, considered the worsening of her back injury, which led to paralysis of her lower limbs and loss of bladder control, in determining her compensation.
Speaking to the media after the award, Gikonyo, now confined in a wheelchair, expressed her forgiveness towards the perpetrators. “I’ve forgiven those who did this to us,” she said.
The four gunmen who carried out the attack were killed at the scene, and Mohamed Kuno, the man who orchestrated the attack, was killed in a raid in Somalia in 2016.
Following her ordeal at Garissa, Gikonyo enrolled at Kenyatta University to continue her education.
“The judgment has been favorable to us. They have promised to award us damages for the injuries. We are so grateful to our lawyers who have done their best to make the case successful,” Gikonyo said.
“The journey has been quite tough, but we didn’t lose hope. We knew that justice would be served.”
The three-judge bench also awarded Ronald Moranga Kes.7 million, Evaline Chepkemoi Kes.6 million, Anderson Owalla Kes.5 million, Kasyoka Mwambeko Kes.5 million, Ben Mwiti Kes.4 million, Stanley Muli Kes.4 million, Annastaciah Mikwa Kes.3.5 million, James Muli Kes.3 million, Risper Nyakari Kes.3 million, Alfred Kithu Kes.2.5 million, Mercy Chepkorir Kes.1.2 million, Narius Kipngeno Kes.1.2 million, and Dancan Obwamu Kes.1.5 million.
Following the ruling, the government will pay over Kes. 441 million to the families of the deceased Garissa University students and Kes 56.9 million to the survivors.
In 2019, a court found three men guilty of charges related to the attack. Rashid Charles Mberesero, Mohamed Ali Abikar, and Hassan Edin Hassan were convicted of conspiring to commit the attack and of being members of Somalia’s al-Shabab Islamist militant group.
Sahal Diriye Hussein, a fourth man, was acquitted of all charges. All four men are Kenyan nationals, except for Rashid Charles Mberesero, who is Tanzanian.
Mohamed Ali Abikar and Hassan Edin Hassan were initially sentenced to 41 years in prison, but their sentences were later reduced to 25-and-a-half years. High Court Justice Cecilia Githua acquitted them of being members of the al-Shabab militant group, but upheld the lower court’s convictions for conspiracy to commit a terrorist act.
Rashid Charles Mberesero, who received a life sentence, was found dead in his cell at Kamiti Maximum Prison in November 2020 in an apparent suicide.
The court imposed a stiffer punishment on Mberesero after determining he had been caught hiding on the campus roof following the attack and could neither explain his presence in Kenya nor at the university.
