GARISSA, Kenya (Wall Street Journal) – One year ago, President Uhuru Kenyatta declared on television that the era of insecurity was over for Kenyans. He vowed that closed-circuit cameras capable of picking faces out of crowds and relaying information to authorities would soon dot major cities and towns.
“Terrorists, criminals, thugs, run and hide, because there will be thousands of cameras and millions of pairs of eyes watching you,” he said.
But on Friday, Kenyans wondered about their security a day after a rampage at a college in which Islamists killed at least 147 students—1½ years after a shopping-mall massacre that left 67 people dead prompted Mr. Kenyatta’s pledges. Both attacks were claimed by Somalia-based Islamist group al-Shabaab.
Students at the Garissa University College said militants burst through the campus gates and began to indiscriminately shoot people, both Muslims and Christians. By nightfall, a least 147 students were dead along with the four assailants. More bodies were being recovered on Friday, said officials in Garissa and students who survived.