Africa-Press – Kenya. Survivors and bereaved families of the 1998 bombing of the United States Embassy have demanded that President William Ruto to personally address the long-standing issue of their compensation from the US government, nearly three decades after the tragic attack.
The group, collectively known as The Consortium, made the demand on Thursday, November 6, when they urged the President to bring up the matter ahead of US Vice President JD Vance’s visit to Kenya later this month.
Speaking after a court session on their compensation case, the group issued a urgent call for justice, lamenting over 27 years of poverty, trauma and government neglect.
The August 7, 1998 attack left more than 200 people dead and over 5,000 injured when a truck bomb exploded outside the US Embassy, then at the intersection of Moi Avenue and Haile Selassie Avenue in Nairobi city centre.
Aside from the demand to Ruto, the group also demanded judicial accountability, immediate implementation of the stalled Parliamentary Committee report on compensation, which was done by the Senate.
Back in 2023, the Senate established an Ad Hoc Committee, chaired by Senator Agnes Kavindu, on the Compensation of Kenyan victims of the 1998 bombing.
A progress report of the Ad Hoc Committee was later laid in Parliament, titled ‘Progress Report of the Ad-Hoc Committee – Compensation of 1998 Bomb blast Victims.’
The Committee held hearings, met victims, lawyers, government ministries such as Interior and National Administration, Foreign and Diaspora Affairs and Health, as well as disability-council entities.
Among the issues the Committee flagged were the registration of victims where they highlighted that many were unregistered with disability council, and thus unable to access benefits, and creation of a special desk in the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign and Diaspora Affairs to coordinate redress.
Victims told the Committee they felt discriminated against because US compensation schemes had included non-American nationals in some cases but not Kenyan citizens.
Although the US has compensation schemes for its citizens and embassy employees, Kenyan citizens who were victims were largely excluded from eligibility, as legislation passed by the US Congress did not factor in Kenyan victims.
Another demand issued by the Consortium was justice for victims of the recent Gen Z protests, who they viewed as sharing in the same pattern of state neglect and unfulfilled promises.
Meanwhile, the Consortium warned the public against fraudulent groups purporting to represent the bombing victims, saying such entities have been exploiting the tragedy for personal gain while genuine survivors continue to suffer in silence.
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