DNK International By Elizabeth Were,Nairobi.
A Nairobi court has rejected a compensation claim filed by survivors of the 1998 Nairobi bomb blast and families of those killed in the attack, bringing to an end a case that many victims had hoped would finally deliver justice more than two decades later.
In a ruling delivered by Justice Lawrence Mugambi at Milimani court on Wednesday found that the petition lacked the legal foundation required to hold the government liable for the tragic attack.
The judge ruled that the petitioners had not presented sufficient evidence to show that the State had prior intelligence about the bombing or failed to act on information that could have averted the tragedy.
The decision was a painful setback for survivors who continue to live with the physical, emotional and economic consequences of the attack.
Petitioners told the court that they had endured permanent injuries, illiness ,long-term trauma and financial hardship, arguing that the State had abandoned them despite its constitutional obligation to safeguard citizens.
Justice Mugambi held that the court could not base its findings on sympathy or moral arguments alone.
He noted that although the petitioners relied on various reports to support their case, the individuals who authored those documents were never called to testify.
As a result, the material amounted to hearsay and could not be relied upon as evidence.
“It cannot be established from the material placed before this court that the government had knowledge of the planned attack or ignored any actionable intelligence,” Mugambi ruled.
The court also found no proof that the United States government had blamed Kenya for failing to prevent the bombing, a claim raised by the petitioners to support their case.
While acknowledging the immense suffering caused by the attack, the judge stressed that courts are bound by strict rules of evidence.
“Without credible and admissible proof of state negligence or omission, the petition could not succeed,”the Judge ruled.
The ruling leaves many survivors and bereaved families once again confronting unanswered questions, as their long pursuit of accountability through the courts ends without the recognition or compensation they had sought.
[DNK-International@January 28,2026]
