Garissa University

GARISSA UNIVERSITY

“The Morning Dreams Were Buried”

Garissa was quiet that morning.

The kind of quiet only early mornings in small towns have.

A cold breeze moved through the campus of Garissa University College as students slept peacefully after long nights of studying. Some had fallen asleep with books still open beside them. Others were awake preparing for morning classes and revision.

Exams were approaching.

Dreams were alive.

Inside the dormitories were future doctors, teachers, journalists, engineers, and leaders. Young Kenyans from different tribes and backgrounds had traveled hundreds of kilometers from home carrying one powerful hope:

Education would change their lives forever.

Some students had spoken to their parents the night before.

“Mom, I’m okay.”

“I’ll call you tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

Nobody knew those would become final conversations.

Then suddenly—

Gunshots shattered the silence.

At first, confusion spread through the hostel corridors.

Some students thought it was a robbery nearby. Others assumed security officers were training outside the campus.

But within seconds, screaming erupted.

Loud. Terrified. Endless.

Panic exploded across...