Botswana students mourn slain Kenyan students
Sharon Mathala | Friday April 10, 2015 14:12
Last week Thursday, heavily armed attackers stormed Garissa University in the northeastern part of Kenya, killing147 students, two security guards, and injuring 79 others. More than 500 managed to escape the massacre. This was the worst terrorists attack since the 1998 bombing of the US embassy in Kenya.
Shocked Batswana students told Mmegi that they were greatly saddened by the attack on their Kenyan counterparts.
“On behalf of the movement, I am sending condolences to Kenya and the families that are mourning the loss of their loved ones. We are with them in this time. It is uncalled-for to kill the future leaders of Africa. Religion, race and ethics have divided us,” said Saddam Chaloba, the leader of a newly formed Youth Need a Voice.
Chaloba said his organisation is in the process of mapping out a way to help Kenyan youths. But since this is a sensitive issue which requires security permission to intervene, Chaloba said they would seek help from other organisations.
Tefo Ndou, a member of the SRC at the Limkokwing University of Creative Technology (LUCT), has blamed African leaders for not taking terrorists threats seriously. He said that the situation has escalated to the extent that Al-Shabaab massacred a large number of students without the country’s intelligence anticipating the attack. He likened the attack to the 2014 abduction of 200 schoolgirls in the town of Chibok in the Borno State of Nigeria. To this day, the girls have not been found.
“If African leaders could come together and discuss this issue on a serious level, a solution to eliminate terrorism could be found. Our leaders should do something before the situation gets out of control,” said Ndlovu.
He advised fellow young Africans to stay away from terrorists groups.
Newly-elected University of Botswana SRC president, Macdonald Kgosiekae said it was high time international organisations stepped out of their comfort zones and helped affected countries to put in place highly resourced security measures.
“We have seen the likes of Boko Haram who have also been killing people and destroying innocent lives because of religious intolerance. We call upon the AU and other organisations to take this matter head on. They have in the past, seemed a little reluctant,” he said.
Kgosiekae added that, “You cannot have only two guards protecting an institution at night, which was what happened. We also face the same problem here at the UB. Security is most critical and we do send our condolences to the families that have lost their loved ones and also, condemn this act”.
The Muslim Association of Botswana is not amused either. Its president, Satar Dada, who has previously described massacres as unlawful acts in the society, also condemned the attack.
“Any killings are unlawful and we condemn this act. This is inhuman and it should not happen anywhere in the world no matter the circumstances,” he said
When quizzed about what measures the association has put in place to make sure there is no radicalism in Botswana, Dada responded: “We are a very peaceful nation, there is no reason to believe that something of this nature will happen in Botswana”.
Meanwhile, the government of Kenya has issued 20 million Shilling ($250,000) bounty for the suspected mastermind of the attack, Mohamed Mohamud’s al Qaeda-linked group, which has launched deadly attacks on Kenyans before.