The High Court has dismissed a petition seeking compensation and a commission of inquiry over the 1998 Nairobi bomb blast, ruling that the petitioners failed to prove that the government neglected its duty to prevent the attack.
Delivering the judgment on Wednesday, Justice Lawrence Mugambi said the petition, filed in 2021, lacked merit and did not establish liability on the part of the State. The petitioners had claimed that repeated early warnings about the attack were ignored, including failures to secure Kenya’s borders, despite knowledge of the threat.
However, the judge emphasized that the burden of proof rested with the petitioners, who were required to demonstrate, on a balance of probabilities, that specific intelligence existed and that the government failed to act. Justice Mugambi noted that no affidavits had been sworn by authors of reports cited in the petition, and no conclusive evidence was presented to show prior intelligence was ignored. “Without evidence of failure on the part of the respondents, the averments by the petitioners remain hollow,” he said.
The court also addressed concerns over the long delay in filing the petition. While the respondents argued that the passage of more than two decades had prejudiced the State, the judge found the petitioners’ explanation satisfactory, noting that they had engaged with the government over the years and received assurances regarding compensation. He concluded that the State had not clearly demonstrated any prejudice caused by the delay.
Justice Mugambi further rejected reliance on foreign court decisions, observing that American court rulings cited by the petitioners did not attribute neglect to the Kenyan government.
On the petitioners’ requests for a declaration of State culpability and a commission of inquiry, the court ruled that such decisions fall within the Executive’s discretion. Similarly, prayers directing the Attorney General to report on reparations from foreign states were denied, with the judge noting potential implications for foreign relations.
