US Ambassador Meg Whitman Rules Out Compensation For 1998 Bomb Blast Victims: "Not Likely"

• United States of America Ambassador to Kenya, Meg Whitman, said her government is reluctant to compensate victims of the 1998 bomb blast
• Whitman argued that there are more legal and non-legal reasons, making it difficult for the US to compensate the victims
• The bombing, claimed by the terrorist group al-Qaeda, killed 213 people and injured over 5,000, most of them innocent pedestrians and office workers

Amos Khaemba, a journalist at TUKO.co.ke, brings over three years of experience covering politics and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi - United States of America Ambassador to Kenya Meg Whitman has spoken about the delayed compensation for the 1998 bomb blast victim.

Why the US is reluctant to compensate victims

During an interview on Citizen TV on Wednesday, May 15, Whitman disclosed that legal reasons, together with other reasons, have contributed to the reluctance of the American government to compensate the blast victims.

Whitman pointed out that the current and previous US administrations have been exploring options for compensating the victims, but compensation may not happen.

"This has been an issue for 25 years and I think there are legal reasons and other reasons the Americans are not able to do this. We are looking at it again, but I think it is probably not likely to happen," Whitman said.

How many people died in the 1998 bomb blast?

On Friday, August 7, 1998, a seemingly normal day in Nairobi turned tragic when a powerful blast hit the US Embassy, then located on Moi Avenue.

The bombing, claimed by the terrorist group al-Qaeda, killed 213 people and injured over 5,000, most of them innocent pedestrians and office workers.

On Saturday, August 5, 2023, members of the Senate Ad hoc Committee on the Compensation of the Kenyan Victims in the 1998 Bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi joined families of the casualties to commemorate 25 years of the terror attack.

The Thanksgiving and Prayer Ceremony is to mark a quarter of a decade since the attack took place at Peace Memorial Park bomb blast area.

Speaking to the families, Machakos senator Dan Maanzo, the chairman of the ad hoc committee, said that they are determined to have the US government compensate the victims' families.

He also said they will be engaging the Kenyan government to ensure that the survivors of the blast leave a better life despite the challenges and trauma they suffered in the explosion.

Proofreading by Asher Omondi, current affairs journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.