Nairobi — The government will not compensate victims of the 1998 Nairobi bomb blast after the High Court dismissed a petition seeking damages, dealing a blow to a case filed more than two decades after the attack.
In its decision rendered on Wednesday, the court found that the petitioners failed to demonstrate negligence or omission on the part of the State in relation to the Al Qaeda-linked bombing of the United States Embassy in Nairobi.
Justice Lawrence Mugambi ruled that the petition did not meet the legal threshold required to establish government liability, saying responsibility could not be inferred from the evidence placed before the court.
The petitioners had argued that the State ignored repeated security warnings and failed to take preventive measures, including strengthening border security, despite alleged knowledge of an imminent threat.
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However, the judge rejected this argument, noting that the claims were not supported by verifiable proof.
"The obligation placed on the State is clear. The State must take positive steps to prevent violations of the right to life," Justice Mugambi ruled.
"However, the burden of proof lies on the person who desires the court to believe in the existence of those facts."
Unreasonable delay
On the issue of timing, the State argued that the petition had been filed after an unreasonable delay, saying the passage of more than 20 years had severely prejudiced its ability to respond to the claims.
The petitioners countered that they had remained in communication with government offices over the years and were repeatedly led to believe that compensation was under consideration.
They also argued that constitutional matters are not strictly bound by limitation periods.
Justice Mugambi accepted this explanation, finding that the delay had been sufficiently accounted for.
However, the court faulted the evidentiary basis of the case, noting that key reports relied upon were not supported by sworn affidavits from their authors.
The judge further observed that no concrete proof had been presented to show that Kenyan authorities had received actionable intelligence prior to the attack and failed to act.
He also declined to issue orders seeking a declaration of State responsibility or to compel the President to appoint a commission of inquiry, ruling that such actions fall within the mandate of the Executive, not the Judiciary.
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The August 7, 1998 bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi remains one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in Kenya's history.
The suicide attack killed at least 213 people -- most of them Kenyans -- and injured more than 4,000 others.
A near-simultaneous bombing at the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killed 11 people.
The attacks were later claimed by the Al Qaeda terror network and marked a turning point in global counterterrorism efforts and Kenya's own security and anti-terrorism framework.
