Kenya bomb victims say help inadequate

Many victims feel let down by the US

Victims of the 7 August 1998 terrorist bombing of the United States embassy in Nairobi say that they are unhappy with the support they have received from the US Government.

Thousands of the victims gathered on Thursday at the site where the US embassy once stood to commemorate the fifth anniversary of the bombings.

The attack, blamed on al-Qaeda, killed 213 people and injured 5,000 others.

The US embassy in Nairobi said wreaths placed at the memorial site would "honour all those who died or were scarred by the attack five years ago".

But for many who were scarred by the attack, it was a day of reflection on what they feel is inadequate compensation from the US.

"I am now a reluctant housewife. I have to keep asking for money and I have to spend a lot of money on medicines," said Zipporah Machoku who worked at a building adjacent to the embassy building.

The embassy said in statement that the US had given humanitarian aid worth more than $42m to the victims and their families.

The money was for medical care, counselling, school fees, rehabilitation therapy, vocational training, recovery assistance and reconstruction of buildings next to the site where the embassy stood.

But many of the victims say that is not enough. Some point out that the new state-of-the-art US embassy in Nairobi could have cost many times over what the US Government has spent on them.

'Not liable'

Last month, the 5,000 Kenyans affected by the bombing lost an appeal for compensation.

My life took a permanent twist on 7 August 1998. Zipporah Machoku A day in a bomb victim's life

A US appeal court said they had no grounds to sue Washington for hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.

It followed a ruling last year, when a court in Washington rejected the victims' claims that the US Government should be held liable for alleged negligence.

The Kenyans had accused the US of failing to secure the Nairobi embassy or to warn the public of the risk of attack.

Four men linked to al-Qaeda were convicted and jailed for life for the attacks.