Teen Survives Al-Shabaab Attack by Hiding in Closet, Drinking Lotion, Praying

A Kenyan teen survived the al-Shabaab attack on Garissa University College by hiding in a closet for two days drinking body lotion and praying. Christian News Network reports 19-year-old Cynthia Cheroitich was found two days after Thursday’s massacre that killed 148 people. 

Cheroitich told reporters, “I was just praying to my God, saying that if it has come to my day, it has reached. But if it not yet, let God decide whatever He likes.”

In order to survive, Cheroitich covered herself with clothes to hide. She became hungry and thirsty while in hiding and found a bottle of lotion to drink. 

The young woman was found hiding in her dormitory by Kenya security forces who were retrieving the bodies of the dead. Cheroitich had been traumatized and thought the police who found her were more al-Shabaab terrorists; the officials fetched one of Cheroitich’s teachers to convince her that she was safe. 

As previously reported, gunmen fired shots at university students on Thursday (April 2) for 13 hours before police secured the scene. The four terrorists separated Muslim and Christian students, executing Christians on the spot.

Publication date: April 7, 2015