Wednesday January 24, 2018

By EMMANUEL WANJALA

A cover of the "Watu Wote" film which has been nominated for an Oscar Award. /COURTESY

The armed militants had attacked a Mandera-bound bus near Elwak at around 7am on December 21, 2015.

Salah Farah, a teacher at a local school, confronted the militants together with fellow Muslim passengers as the attackers attempted to separate Christian passengers and shoot them.

The group told the attackers to kill everyone on the bus or leave them alone.

In November 2014, 28 people were massacred by suspected Al Shabaab militants who singled Christians from a Nairobi-bound bus they had hijacked.

During the 2015 incident, Farah was shot and wounded as he argued with the militants. He later succumbed to his injuries at Kenyatta National Hospital on January 17, 2016.

A school boy and a man who attempted to escape were also shot. The attackers later allowed the bus to proceed to Mandera.

The attack inspired the creation of "Watu Wote”, a movie directed by Katja Benrath and produced by Tobias Rosen.

The movie premiered at the Westgate Mall on Tuesday coinciding with its nomination.

The film will compete with "DeKalb Elementary,” by Reed Van Dyk, "The Eleven O’Clock,” by Derin Seale, "My Nephew Emmett,” by Kevin Wilson, Jr. and "The Silent Child,” by Chris Overton for the top awards.

The 90th Academy Awards will take place on March 4 in Los Angeles, US.