Africa, Headlines, Human Rights

RIGHTS-KENYA: “Unstoppable Determination” Fuels Quest for Compensation

Joyce Mulama

NAIROBI, Nov 18 2005 (IPS) - If Naomi Kerongo could turn back the hands of time, she would make sure that the morning of Aug. 7, 1998 did not find her near the American embassy in Kenya’s capital, Nairobi.

Failing this, she grapples with the consequences of the blast that rocked the building on that day, killing over 200 people and injuring thousands of others.

“The blast changed how people look at me – I have completely lost my face,” said the 47-year-old woman, a former trade development officer in the Ministry of Trade and Industry who can now easily be mistaken for a beggar.

“I do not think I will reach the level I was at before because of the damage caused by the blast,” she told IPS.

Kerongo is one of several victims of the 1998 attack who have been camping at the bomb site since July this year to demand compensation for their injuries from the U.S. government. The blast was attributed to the al Qaeda network, also blamed for a near simultaneous explosion at the U.S. embassy in neighbouring Tanzania.

The protesters staged a hunger strike at the site, now a park commemorating those killed in the attack, but later resumed eating.

Initially numbering 12, the group has now dwindled to just four members: women who sit at the park’s entrance with their belongings stashed in black polythene bags. On the ground stand placards with messages for the U.S. government: “We are demanding justice. Be fair to us and compensate us,” says one.

The women are seeking an average of one million dollars each.

“I was terribly injured (as) glass tore deep into my forehead. Part of the glass was pulled out, leaving another lodged inside. I had to undergo a special procedure to have it removed,” said Kerongo. “Doctors said I suffered from a psychological disorder. I was hospitalised for two years.”

In the course of all this she lost her job and was evicted from the government house she was occupying. Kerongo moved to Mukuru slum on the outskirts of Nairobi, placing her five children in the care of relatives and friends.

The United States, which denies responsibility for the blast, says it has already given “humanitarian assistance” to survivors. A statement from the American embassy notes that over 40 million dollars was spent on medical care of various sorts, school fees and help for businesses affected by the explosion, amongst others.

However, a 2001 ruling by a New York City court said persons affected by the bomb should receive additional compensation. Plaintiffs in the suit had argued that the U.S. government failed to heed warnings about the blast and take precautions, something that made it liable for damages.

Survivors were asked to submit an assessment of their losses. Kerongo sent a claim for about 750,000 dollars, but has yet to hear anything on the matter.

Kenyan authorities appear uncertain of how to deal with protesters’ demands. An official at the Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs said there was no clear indication of which branch of government had responsibility for them.

“Perhaps the office of the president or the attorney general’s office may be involved. The justice ministry would only come in if the matter was an internal issue,” Geofferey Kibaara, the ministry’s director of legal affairs, told IPS.

Efforts to get comment from both of these offices were unsuccessful. The Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR), a government body, has agreed that the situation of the protesters requires urgent action on the part of authorities – but says its hands are tied in the matter.

“There is very little we can do because the law prohibits us as from dealing with issues that touch on foreign relations,” Maina Kiai, KNCHR chairman, told IPS.

“It is an issue that has to be resolved politically between the government of Kenya and the U.S., not through human rights campaigns.”

And so, the four women at Memorial Park continue their protest.

Last month, they defied orders from the park’s management to leave the site, and were forcibly evicted. Now, they camp at the park gates – their placards removed from time to time by the Nairobi City Council, which claims the signs are littering the area. Some sympathisers provide food, others money.

“I will stay here until the U.S. compensates me,” says Kerongo, adjusting the umbrella she uses to shield herself from the sun.

“This determination is unstoppable. I have to hear from the U.S. government.”

 
Republish | | Print |

Related Tags



twisted love ana huang free