NAIROBI, Kenya Jul 25 – Kenya sent a message of condolence to the Kingdom of Norway on Monday, following the killing of nearly 80 people in bomb blasts and shooting by a lone gunman in the country’s worst attacks since World War II.
In a statement sent from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, President Mwai Kibaki condemned the terrorist attacks in Oslo and conveyed a message of condolence to relatives of those killed.
“It is with profound shock and disbelief that I have learnt of the tragic bomb attacks in Oslo and the mass shooting at the youth camp on Utoya Island on 23rd July, 2011 that claimed lives of innocent Norwegians,” the President said in a message to King Harald V of the Kingdom of Norway.
In his message, the President noted that it was with disbelief that he learnt of the tragic bomb attacks and mass shooting.
He said the terrorist attacks must be condemned in the strongest terms and their perpetrators promptly brought to book. “Such heinous acts can never be justified and have no place in the civilized world.”
The President wished his majesty and the people of Norway peace during these difficult moments saying: “Our sympathies are with the families of the victims and we pray that the Almighty God will rest the souls of the departed in eternal peace.”
Norwegian authorities have identified and charged Anders Behring Breivik, 32, a suspected right-wing Christian extremist in court for planning and executing the terrorist attack on innocent civilians.
Breivik appeared before Judge Kim Heger at a court in Norway where he reportedly confessed to having masterminded the attacks with two other cells.
The Judge told reporters soon after the closed-door hearing of the case that the suspect had defended the attacks as having been necessary to combat what he termed as “colonization” of Norway by Muslims.
The court ordered that the suspect be remanded in custody in isolation for a period of eight weeks to enable investigators finalize a probe on the attack—the deadliest ever in Norway since World War II.
Police said they were investigating to establish if the suspect was the author of a 1,500-page manifesto criticizing Muslims and outlining an elaborate plan of executing Friday’s attacks. The manifesto was published online almost the same time the attacks took place.
About The Author
