NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) — Some relatives of students who were mercilessly gunned down by Islamic militants said Wednesday they would pray for forgiveness for the killers, responding to a Catholic archbishop who visited a morgue where victims' bodies are being kept.
Cardinal John Njue, the archbishop of Nairobi, prayed with some of the families with a son or daughter, nephew or niece who died in the April 2 assault on Garissa University College by al-Shabab, the extremist group based in neighboring Somalia. Four gunmen killed 148 people and then also died when Kenyan security forces entered the campus later in the day.
Many family members have described the death of a child in the Garissa slaughter as not just an emotional blow, but also the loss of an "investment" into which they had poured their money and hopes. Making it to university is a big achievement in Kenya, where many people don't get opportunities that open the way to a financially secure life. Some home villages of the dead students, seen as bright stars who were making their communities proud, are reportedly experiencing collective grief.
"Take courage and do not give up," Njue told relatives sitting under a tent at Nairobi's Chiromo Funeral Parlour. "These are the challenges that come in our lives. Some of them are most probably too heavy ... heavier than we can be able to bear, humanly speaking. But let us try what we can."
The cardinal said he hoped the Garissa attack would become a "moment of re-examination" of ways to improve security for Kenyans following numerous allegations that the government response was slow and initially ineffective. He also appealed for a "process of compassion" for the perpetrators, despite their terrible deed.
"We pray then for all those who are concerned with this," he said. "We are not dealing with animals, we are dealing with human beings ... If this were to happen to them, I don't think any of them would ever be joyful."
The message resonated with Evelyn Wakholi, whose 18-year-old daughter, Milly Yonbo, died in the attack.
"The Bible says: 'Do not judge,'" Wakholi said. "It's painful, but what can we do?"
Then she wondered aloud why the killers, one of whom has been identified as the son of a Kenyan government official, had to kill young people rather than the elderly. Youths, Wakholi declared, would be better able to withstand the suffering that she was enduring, and unlike their elders, had yet to experience the fullness of life.
Milly's aunt, Josephine Shiyuka, said her Christian faith dictated forgiveness for the killers, noting that Jesus Christ forgave those who crucified him. The message was particularly apt for those affiliated with the gunmen who might still turn back from their violent creed, she said.
"If they're living, they still have time to change," she said.
Also Wednesday, a senior Kenyan official said the government was freezing assets of dozens of organizations and individuals suspected of financing Islamic extremist activities.
Treasury Principal Secretary Kamau Thugge said the freeze of assets applies to 85 companies and individuals identified by the government's Financial Reporting Center because of suspicious transactions. The list includes organizations dealing in remittances to Somalia.
"There will be intensive investigation to see whether in fact the suspicious transactions that have been noted by the Financial Reporting Center are indeed to finance terrorism," Thugge said "We hope that the investigation will be done quickly and then from there a decision will be made on how to proceed forward."
Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta has vowed a sharp response to last week's attack.
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AP writer Tom Odula contributed to this report from Nairobi.