In
a move that has been hailed by many as resilient and triumphant in the
fight against terrorism, Garissa University College reopened Monday, January 4, nine months after it
was closed down following a terrorist attack by Al-Shabaab that resulted in the
deaths of 148 people, most of them students.
A
memo to staff and students stated that an academic board meeting would
take place following the reopening. Both academic and non academic staff
were asked to report back on Wednesday.
109 students who survived the attack will have their fees paid for a
year by the French government. They will also be given a living
allowance, according to a statement by the French Embassy back in
November 17.
The university was reopened amidst heightened security, as the varsity’s staff assembled for the first staff meeting. During the low-key ceremony at the institution, the college principal, Prof Ahmed Osman Warfa, said most of the staff had reported back to work.
The campus, a constituent college of the
Eldoret-based Moi University, was the scene of a 10-hour siege when
Al-Shabaab gunmen stormed it in the early hours of April 2, 2015.
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