Rescue operations after the 1998 bomb terror attack on the US Embassy in Nairobi. PHOTO | FILE
Joash Okindo is among several Kenyans
who will be compensated after a US court last week released guidelines
for payment of victims of the 1998 Nairobi bombing.
According
to the ruling by United States District judge John D. Bates in a case
filed by Ms Winfred Wairimu Wamae, Mr Okindo spent about eight months in
hospital after suffering a skull fracture. He was in a coma for the
first month.
He also sustained shrapnel injures on the back, legs and hands in the blast at the United States Embassy.
Mr
Okindo is among plaintiffs who also suffered severe emotional injuries
and have been awarded between $7 million (Sh609 million) and $8 million
(Sh696 million).
Another victim, Mr Michael Toma, sustained cuts from shrapnels.
He also suffered internal bleeding in his urinary system and a deflated left lung. His right eardrum was permanently damaged.
Mr Toma and other victims who experienced similar pain have been awarded $7.5 million (Sh653 million) in compensation.
Mr Moses Kinyua, who was injured during the explosion, is in the same category.
According
to court records, Mr Kinyua was in a coma for three weeks after his
skull was crushed and jaw fractured. He also lost his left eye.
BRAIN DAMAGE
“The head trauma resulted in brain damage and he spent over six months in hospital.”
In his ruling, the judge said the amounts were only guidelines and not rules.
“In
the interest of fairness and to account for difficulty in assessing the
relative severity of each family member’s suffering, the court will
depart from those guidelines only for a few plaintiffs for whom the
special master’s report is particularly convincing,” said the judge.
No comments :
Post a Comment