Christian Teachers in Northern Kenya now Al-Shabab Militants Target
Written by Sunny Unachi on 19th January 2019
After the militant group al-Shabab killed three of his colleagues in a recent attack on Christian schoolteachers here, Jared Nyanchong’i packed his few belongings and boarded a bus to the capital, Nairobi.
“These people call us black Satan, devil and kafir,” said Nyanchong’i, 40, a father of three. “The life of teachers is very important. We love teaching and we can teach in all parts of the country — but only when our lives are not threatened.”
Nyanchong’i is one of more than 1,100 Christian teachers who have fled since al-Shabab began coming across the border into northern Kenya from Somalia in 2017, mostly targeting non-Muslim teachers. While about 85 percent of Kenya is Christian, the country’s north is occupied predominantly by Muslim ethnic Somalis.
In October, the militants hurled an improvised explosive device into one of the two apartment blocks housing Christian teachers at the Arabia Boys Secondary School, killing two.
Now, the non-local teachers in the region want to be transferred to safer areas for security reasons.
“I’m very lucky to be alive,” said Elijah Nderitu, who teaches English and literature at the school. “I had a chilling encounter with the militants but I hid under my bed. They wanted to kill all of us who are non-local teachers. I will never teach in this region and I want to be transferred to safer areas.”
The latest attacks represent a return of al-Shabab, which has singled out and killed non-Muslim teachers and students in the past. In April 2015, al-Shabab killed more than 148 Christian students from Garissa University, about 200 miles south of Wajir.
The attacks have come in retaliation against the country’s sending its troops to Somalia to fight the extremist group in 2011.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers has said non-local teachers, who make up as many as 60 percent of the teachers in the area, have long suffered discrimination by locals, who, officials said, often aid the militants in targeting Christians.
The latest attacks represent a return of al-Shabab, which has singled out and killed non-Muslim teachers and students in the past. In April 2015, al-Shabab killed more than 148 Christian students from Garissa University, about 200 miles south of Wajir.
The attacks have come in retaliation against the country’s sending its troops to Somalia to fight the extremist group in 2011.
The Kenya National Union of Teachers has said non-local teachers, who make up as many as 60 percent of the teachers in the area, have long suffered discrimination by locals, who, officials said, often aid the militants in targeting Christians.
Source: Religion News Service
