{Photo courtesy of The Standard}
By Sophie Kinya.
Kenyans held a memorial service to honor those who died in the bomb blast in 1998 at the American Embassy. The annual event was held at the memorial site, which is located at the corner of Moi and Haile Sellasie Avenues, and was attended by Azimio leaders Martha Karua and Kalonzo Musyoka, as well as friends and family of the lost souls.
The bombing that occurred 25 years ago is believed to have targeted the American Embassy and was organized by the terrorist group Al-Qaeda. A truck exploded outside the building, and a few minutes later, a similar incident occurred at the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. The horrible tragedy killed over 200 individuals and injured over 5,000 more.
It has recently come to people’s attention that not enough compensation has been provided, particularly to comfort those left behind and yet many Kenyans are still suffering from the impacts of the bombing. Some of them are blind and others deaf while others are still suffering from Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
The US government’s reply is that their laws do not allow Kenyan victims of the attack to be reimbursed and recognized. However, there may be light at the end of the tunnel for them because the AD HOC committee chair, Ms. Agnes Kavindu has committed to work with the US government to make sure that all victims are compensated well. ‘We are also planning to see our president who I know will give us full back up, even the opposition will give us full back up and we are going to do everything possible for us as senate and a committee to make sure we talk to the senate in the United States so that they can include us in these funds…’ she said during memorial prayers that took place on Sunday.
It is also important to note that more than 20 people in connection with the deadly bombings have since been charged to life imprisonment in various prisons in the United States and some other people have died including the Al-Qaeda leader, Osama Bin Laden who was killed by the US government in 2011.