A memorial service was held Wednesday at a mortuary in Petah Tikva, Israel, to honor the life of Clemens Mtenga, a Tanzanian student taken hostage during a Hamas attack on Israel.
The event was attended by representatives of the Tanzanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs and colleagues from the academic program in which Clemens is completing his studies. Ezekiel Kitiku, a student who lives with Mr Mtenga in Kibbutz Nir Oz, told the BBC it was a very difficult time.
“We spent a lot of time together, we cooked together and at dinner we always talked about our day together.
His sudden departure was very painful.
“But I’m a Christian, and I think I’ll meet him someday.”
Mr. Kitiku currently lives in Kiryat Malachi and continues to engage in agriculture.
Tanzania’s foreign ministry said it had contacted the Israeli government to repatriate Mtenga’s body.