Victim's parent seeks compensation over Garissa terror attack

A parent of a student who perished in the Garissa University attack has sued the State and the institution for failing to protect his son.

Gakuru Michire, father of the late Samuel Michire, moved to the High Court yesterday seeking compensation for the failure by the State and university to secure his son from Al Shabaab militants.

On April 2, 2015, gunmen stormed the college in Garissa, killing 148 people and injuring 79 others.

Michire claims his son was killed due to inability by State's security agents to first detect the threat and subsequent failure to respond in time when the attack occurred.

The man filed the papers in the court registry yesterday evening through Ndegwa and Company Advocates, suing the Attorney General Githu Muigai and the Inspector General of Police Joseph Boinnet.

"The petitioner avers that the respondents refused or neglected their respective duty of offering protection to the petitioner's son on that material date, which negligence, resulted to killing of the petitioner's son which amounted to violation to petitioner's right to life," papers filed in court state.

State mandate

He said it was the work of the State to ensure that the deceased had a habitable and secure place during the course of his education.

"Human beings are inviolable and every human being is entitled to respect for his life and the integrity of his person. No one may be arbitrarily deprived off this right," Michire stated, adding that it was the mandate of State to guarantee his son that he was safe.

The attack was carried out with the help of Mohamed Dulyadayn alias Kuno Gamadhere.  The man was killed this month.

Police said Kuno was behind several attacks, including the Mandera one in which over 60 people were killed.