1998 bomb blast victims urge Ruto to support push for justice, recognition

Victims and survivors of the devastating 1998 U.S. Embassy bombing in Nairobi are appealing to President William Ruto to intervene in their prolonged struggle for justice and compensation.

Through a statement, the survivors expressed frustration over persistent delays in court, government silence, and what they termed a lack of political will to address their plight.

"Twenty-six years after the deadly bomb aimed at the U.S. Embassy blasted and tore through the heart of Nairobi, we-the survivors, the bereaved, the forgotten-are still bleeding. Our wounds may not be fresh, but they are deep. And they have never been healed," the statement reads.

The group criticized the office of the Attorney General for repeatedly seeking adjournments in an ongoing case at the Milimani Law Courts.

"The Attorney General keeps adjourning our case. To date, they have not yet submitted their side. Are they planning to stall our case forever? Are we going to go back on the 23rd of this month to be turned away because they ask for continuance again? When is the end?" posed Justus Kimathi, the chairperson of the consortium of August 7, 1998 victims.

Kimathi noted that in 2023, an Ad-Hoc Senate Committee led by Senator Agnes Kavindu issued a report recommending that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs help the victims committee secure an audience with the U.S. Congress.

However, Kimathi said that the proposal has been ignored.

"We did not wait quietly-we wrote to the Cabinet Secretary, begging for this step to be taken. We are still waiting," the statement reads.

The survivors are now turning to President Ruto to acknowledge their suffering and to take decisive steps.

"We now cry out to our President: please see us. Please hear us. Please fight for us. Our pain is not political-it is human," said Kimathi.

The consortium is also appealing directly to U.S. President Donald J. Trump to recognize the attack as a tragedy that occurred on U.S. soil abroad.

"Mr. President, this tragedy happened on U.S. soil abroad. We were collateral in a war that was not ours. Yet we have carried the burden for over two decades, alone. You have the power to do what others before you did not. Break the silence. Break the delay. Break the chains of suffering that have bound us for so long," the statement noted.

Kimathi stated that with many survivors aging, ailing, and some already deceased, it was urgent that the matter is conclusively addressed.

"Time is not on our side. We are dying, Mr. President. Some of us in hospital beds. Others in slums. Our children are growing up with trauma instead of dreams," Kimathi noted.