The high court on Wednesday ordered government to pay Sh 441 Million to the families of the 148 victims who were killed during Garissa University terror attack in 2015.
The state will also pay Sh 56.9 million to 14 survivors who sustained serious injuries as a result of the attack.
In the case, the families of the deceased and the survivors moved to court arguing that their rights were violated.
In the judgement, the court ruled that the victims had proven their case in court.
The court issued a declaration that the state had the responsibility of protecting them during the attack.
The court said the state neglected to prevent the attack and as a result the children lost their lives and constitutional right were violated.
“Their rights to legitimate expectation before and after the attack was violated, the state violated their rights to life and legitimate expectation the court ruled.
Each of the deceased persons family will be awarded Sh 3 M in damages for the death of their kin.
However, a temporary execution of the judgement was issued by the court and the judgement stayed for 30 days.
In the case victims and Kituo Cha Sheria sued the government, security agencies and the college for failing to take steps to stop the attack, despite having useful intelligence.
They argued that the delayed deployment of the elite police squad is attributable to the failure by the NPS to prioritise the rescue mission.
They claimed that on April 1, 2015, some of the students received SMS messages indicating an impending terror attack. The same was dismissed as rumours and April Fools Day pranks by the school administration.
The former students told court that they had suffered immense physical, psychological and emotional pain from the actions and omissions of the state and the school.
They sought for general damages and compensation and several declarations against the state among them a violation of their right to life.
It was their argument that the coordination of state agencies during the Garissa attack was poor leading to a long siege and injured students.
