Joy as terror attack survivor is discharged

One of the students admitted to the Kenyatta National Hospital after surviving the Garissa University College terror attack two months ago has been discharged.

Ms Mercy Chepkorir says April 2 will forever remain the darkest day of her life.

The 22-year-old was to join her Christian Union colleagues for prayers on that fateful morning when Al-Shabaab terrorists struck and killed 148 people, 142 of them students.

“However, I changed my mind and decided to remain in the hostel,” Ms Chepkorir narrated to hundreds of people who had gathered at Sachangwan Primary School in Nakuru to receive her.

Bomet Governor Isaac Ruto, Bomet Central MP Ronald Tonui and other senior county officials as well as MCAs were part of the team that received her.

“Out of the blues, I heard loud bangs that sounded like gunshots,” she says.

“At first, we thought the institution was on fire due to an electric fault. Little did we know that terrorists had attacked the university. The school was under siege,” says Ms Chepkorir.

“These people were firing bullets from all directions. They were shooting indiscriminately. They killed so many people,” she narrates.

“Most of us who were in the hostel took to our heels. Unfortunately, a bullet hit my right leg as I fled the attackers. I was injured badly,” says the second-year Bachelor of Business Management student.

“I requested one of my roommates who had not been injured to push me into the wardrobe. She did exactly that but I was still feeling very frightened.”

“A few minutes later, the militants stormed our hostel killed my colleagues. Those who were hiding in wardrobes opposite the one I had taken refuge in were not lucky, they were shot dead.”

Ms Chepkorir says she was in a lot of pain as blood oozed from her wound but she held on, even though her legs could no longer support her.

“The militants who were shooting everyone killed one of my friends who fell on me. This is perhaps what saved my life,” she adds.

“I did not move her body away but continued praying to God to save my life.”

“They came back into the room and started looking around for more people to kill. I felt as if they were looking for me. I got so terrified,” she adds.

“They checked under my bed. They actually saw me in the wardrobe but did not bother with me, perhaps because I was lying in a pool of blood. They must have thought I was already dead. They left, to my great relief.”

Ms Chepkorir wants to complete her studies so she can take care of her mother and younger siblings.

“The police arrived later in the day and even when they called out those who were hiding in the hostels, I was hesitant to come out,” she says.

“I was still afraid that perhaps it was the terrorists who were pretending to be police. That day will forever remain etched on my mind. I wish I could forget everything that happened that day but that will not be easy for me.”

Eventually, she mastered some courage and dragged herself out of the wardrobe into the arms of police officers.

“I am not sure exactly what happened after that but I found myself in the hospital. They told me I passed out,” she says.

She was at KNH, which would be her home for two months.

She had been airlifted to Nairobi for treatment, alongside her colleagues who were also injured in the attack. Ms Chepkorir says she was very happy on Friday when she was discharged.

She was taken home on Saturday aboard one of the six ambulances the county government of Bomet has hired from the Kenya Red Cross Society.

Mr Ruto and MP Tonui hired vehicles that carried residents from Ms Chepkorir’s village to Nairobi to escort her home.

Her mother Mrs Roseline Tarkweny said: “I have been having sleepless nights from the time the attack happened but prayers have kept me strong since then.”

Mr Tonui said because terrorists were now targeting learning institutions, there was need for the government to train the heads of the institutions on basic military tactics.

He also wants them issued with firearms with which they can make an attempt to repulse attackers while waiting for police to respond.

Mr Ruto noted that terrorism was a global problem and it should not be allowed to create a problem between Christians and Muslims.

“Al-Shabaab militants are bad people as they were killing their own brothers in Somalia, Yemen and other Arab countries,” said Mr Ruto.

The governor urged Kenyans to volunteer information to security agents on suspicious elements in their midst so that they can be apprehended in time.