Tanzanian student attack: Panic text keeps African students away from class

Mwamba, from Zambia and pursuing business management course, said: “The Sudanese student must be punished by the law of the land. But, how can locals take law into their hands?”

African students enrolled in Bengaluru colleges have been skipping classes since Monday after a message warning them of attacks from “locals” was circulated via WhatsApp.

The 21-year-old Tanzanian woman, who has alleged that she was stripped and paraded by a mob after a car driven by a Sudanese student killed a 35-year-old woman, said she and her African friends were scared that locals might attack them. The student of Acharya College said that the message had asked them to be “be careful” till Saturday.

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A screenshot of the message read, “Dear Leader, Mr Bosco just got a call from someone. He said that the locals are planning to attack again soon and the management of the college said to be at home till Friday or Saturday.” According to her, “Mr Bosco” refers to Bosco Kaweesi, legal advisor of All African Students’ Union.

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Another student from Tanzania, who is pursuing an engineering course at Acharya College, said all African students are scared. “We do not feel safe in India after the attack,” she said. “Most African students are not attending college. We requested the management to postpone the internal exams, but they did not do so,” she added.

Mwamba, from Zambia and pursuing business management course, said: “The Sudanese student must be punished by the law of the land. But, how can locals take law into their hands?”

Ramakrishna Gowda, an administrator of Acharya College, said: “We will visit their accommodations and make them feel safe.” He assured that they would conduct the internal exam separately for the African students.

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