Petition filed seeking Govt compensation over 1998 U.S embassy bombing

A petition has been filed at the Milimani Law Courts seeking compensation from the Kenyan government over the August 7, 1998 U.S embassy bomb blast.

The petitioners include a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) named Legal Advice Centre (Kituo cha Sheria) and five others.

They argue that, following the attack, they lost their loved ones while some sustained serious injuries, adding that from the said date their lives have never been the same as they undergo pain, sadness, anger, stress and trauma.

They further argue that, while the U.S pursued compensation from Al-Qaeda assets and the BNP bank for its citizens, the government of Kenya has been unwilling to pursue compensation for its citizens leaving them aggrieved.

“While some of the victims including the United State Government employees killed or injured in the August 7 attack have been compensated and awarded, (we) have been excluded from the compensation on grounds that (we’re) neither American citizens, employees or contractors,” read court documents.

According to the petitioners, the State and its machinery were negligent and failed to stop the smuggling of money into Al-Qaeda cells within the country, which they say was ultimately used to finance the attack.