Parents want Garissa terror attack petition heard by three judges

Parents of 28 students killed during a terror attack at Garissa University College five years ago want three judges to hear a petition in which they have sued government for negligence.

In the application filed through a human rights advocacy group called Kituo Cha Sheria, the parents want the case file placed before Chief Justice David Maraga for the formation of a bench of three judges.

HUMAN RIGHTS

Appearing before High Court Judge James Makau on Monday, the petitioners said their case raises substantial questions of law touching on violation of human rights.

In the petition, whose hearing is yet to start, the parents have raised new issues on terrorism, human rights and national security which had never been raised earlier.  

Among the issues raised is a question of whether there is an obligation on the part of the State to provide security in times of a terrorist attack.

“It is expedient that the issues are determined by an uneven number of judges being not less than three,” stated the group’s lawyers John Mwariri and John Khaminwa.

They also urged the court to direct the Independent Policing and Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) to release key reports touching on the university attack.

INVESTIGATIONS

The reports involve the results of the investigations done by government agencies on the terror attack that killed 148 people on April 3, 2015 after gunmen stormed the institution and began shooting indiscriminately. Students were preparing for morning prayers at the time of the attack. 

“Access to such information and reports regarding the Garissa terrorist attack will enhance accountability by State officers and boost the confidence in the government,” said Mr Mwariri.

According to Kituo cha Sheria, ability to demand for the parents’ rights and seek for protection can only be enhanced by being able to utilise available information to prove complacency and laxity by the State and other office bearers.

The organisation observed that there has been complacency in the handling of previous terrorist attacks in Kenya by the State and its agencies resulting loss of innocent lives icluding young people in the Garissa incident.

“The court ought to take notice that the government is more likely to engage in questionable behaviour and employ secrecy to conceal failures,” stated Mr Mwariri.

In the reports, the parents want to find out when the elite Recce squad of the General Service Unit of the police arrived at the university following the attack.

DELAY

They also want to know the cause of delay in the elite squad in arriving at the scene and the effect of such delay in preventing and mitigating the effects of the attack.

“Whether the request by the university for beefing of security before the attack was sufficiently considered by the senior police officers. How many intelligence reports were made to the relevant State officers and institutions and how they responded to the reports,” said Mr Mwariri.

Further, the petitioners want to get the information of the response and coordination of the response teams by security officers and the response of the university and other State institutions in the wake of the intelligence reports about the attack.

They are also interested in knowing the culpability of government officers before and after the attack and whether any State officers were found culpable following the attack and whether they were interdicted.

RELEASE INFORMATION

“The petitioners are seeking information touching on the deployment of military officers rather than police officers who are trained to fight in built in areas. More particulars on lack of capacity that was blamed for the attack,” stated Mr Mwariri.

He observed that release of the information is not prejudicial to the national security, and if so the information can be furnished to the court and the petitioners’ advocate (Dr Khaminwa). The ruling will be delivered on April 23, this year.

The parents sued Defence, Education and Interior Cabinet secretaries, National Police Service Inspector General, the university, Attorney-General, Ipoa and CAJ.

In the petition, the parents claim that the government ignored several useful intelligence pointers on impeding terrorist attacks targeting learning institutions in Garissa.

They said that even when security officers were flown to the university, there was no clear command structures such as who was in charge of operations, leading to the long siege, hence the loss of lives.

While blaming the massacre on the government, the parents say the State failed to provide the police with appropriate equipment like night vision and telescopic sights kits, armoured personnel carriers and bullet-proof vests.

Further, they observe that the university hostels were built in a manner that did not help escape of the students.

This is because the windows were grilled and the construction taking place adjacent to the hostel made it extremely difficult for students to escape.