*EPF503 08/11/00
Fact Sheet: Terrorist Bombing of U.S. Embassy in Kenya
(U.S. commemorates second anniversary of Kenya, Tanzania attacks) (1900)

The United States Embassy in Nairobi, Kenya, has issued a fact sheet marking the second anniversary of the terrorist bombing of that facility, which took place on August 7, 1998.

A total of 213 persons were killed in the attack, including 12 American diplomats, 34 Kenyan employees of the embassy, and 167 citizens who were near the embassy in Nairobi when the bomb was detonated. Approximately 5,000 people received medical treatment following the explosion.

Almost simultaneously, the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, was bombed. Ten lives were claimed in that blast, which also injured more than 70 persons.

Following is the text of the fact sheet on the Kenyan bombing:

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August 4, 2000

SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF U.S. EMBASSY BOMB BLAST
FACT SHEET

I. The Attack.

The American Embassy in Nairobi suffered a terrorist bomb attack on August 7, 1998, at 10:37 a.m.

Twelve American diplomats, 34 Kenyan U.S. Embassy employees, and 167 citizens of Nairobi near the embassy at the time were killed, a total of 213 dead.

Approximately 5,000 people received medical treatment following the blast.

Property damage: The embassy itself was severely damaged and subsequently razed. The current building on Mombasa road was purchased and occupied in August 1999. A completely new embassy building on U.N. Road will start construction August 8, 2000, and be occupied in January 2003.

The adjacent Ufundi House was completely destroyed; a new building is being purchased with USAID assistance. The Cooperative Bank Building was badly damaged but is being reconstructed with USAID assistance (see below). Many other nearby buildings in city center suffered various damage.

The site of the embassy and Ufundi House will be transformed into a downtown memorial park by the August 7 Memorial Foundation.

II. Legal status.

Seventeen individuals have been charged in connection with crimes committed by members of the terrorist conspiracy in the U.S. District Court of New York. Six of the accused are in custody in New York and three are in custody in the United Kingdom awaiting extradition. Their trial will begin Jan. 3, 2001. Eight others, including Usama Bin Laden, are fugitives still at large and a $5 million dollar reward is offered for information leading to their arrest and conviction.

August 7, 2000, marks the last date that civil claims may be filed in court against the U.S. government due to the expiration of the statute of limitations on such claims. Two civil suits representing over 2,000 victims have been filed in the United States to date. The courts have not yet responded as to the admissibility of the civil suits; therefore the U.S. government has not yet responded to the suits. The American Embassy is not aware of any civil suits filed against it in Kenyan courts at this time.

III. U.S. Government Humanitarian Assistance to Kenya

In the immediate aftermath of the bomb, the United States provided more than $4.4 million in rescue, medical, and mental health services. In October 1998, the U.S. Congress passed a special supplemental appropriation of $37,850,000 to aid Kenyan victims of the blast. Total US Government assistance committed since the bombing is $42.3 million.

The appropriated funds are providing assistance in two basic categories: medical/social services, and economic/infrastructure support. USAID is providing medical and social services that include reconstructive and other surgeries, mental health services, assistance to the disabled, educational programs for children of the deceased bomb victims, and an improved blood safety program. Support to the economy and infrastructure includes purchase of a replacement building for the totally destroyed Ufundi Cooperative House, assisting in the rehabilitation of Cooperative Bank House, assistance to building owners to help repair damaged buildings, and grants to small businesses to help replace damaged property.

VALUE OF ALL USG PROGRAMS

Main Supplemental Appropriation: $37,000,000
Medical/Health Social Services: $13 million
Economic/Infrastructure Support: $24 million

Holdover funds from Fiscal Year 98: $850,000
Hospital Bills -- reimbursement of bills to 15 local hospitals: $800,000
Mental Health -- Grant to Operation Recovery for Mental Health Services: $50,000

Original Emergency Assistance: $4,452,000
Emergency assistance funding came from a number of United States Government sources. The Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance, the US Military, the Department of Health and Human Services, the Office of Urban Housing at USAID and the Public Health Service all gave their support to the immediate needs of those affected by the bomb blast.
Search and Rescue: $3.4 million
Medical Equipment/First Responder Training: $654,000
Small Business Assistance: $300,000
Mental Health: $20,000
Engineering Advisors: $38,000
NGO Coordination: $40,000

Total all USG programs: $42,302,000

DESCRIPTION OF PROGRAMS

Medical/Health/Social Services -- Total Available: $13 million

1. Reconstructive Surgery and other Medical Care
Program: AMREF received a grant of $1.7 million to manage the follow-up of all medical cases. The program includes coverage for extreme cases that need to be sent outside Kenya for surgery and/or rehabilitation, funding for plastic, orthopedic, dental and ophthalmologic reconstructive surgeries.
Status: Three hundred and eighty-eight (388) reconstructive surgeries were completed at Kenyatta National Hospital and the hospital was issued a check for $600,000 to help defray costs of the treatment provided after the bombing. AMREF has registered over 1200 survivors of the bombing. 70 of these have received dental care, 11 have been sent to Germany for eye surgery, and 2 have been approved for overseas treatment of injuries, which could not be dealt with in Kenya.

2. Mental Health
Program: The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) received a grant of $500,000 to provide a broad range of mental health services including counseling, outreach to adults and children, training, and psychiatric services. This grant will be terminated, at the request of IFRC, in August 2000. Amani Counseling Center is currently under contract to take over the counseling program for the next two years at a cost of $1.2 million.
Status: USAID funded Operation Recovery to provide counseling through April 1999. IFRC, together with the Kenya Red Cross, is in the process of handing over the program to Amani Counseling Center. Amani will implement the counseling program for two years.

3. Social Services for Disabled
Program: USAID has given a grant of $1.2 million to the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). They, in turn, have sub-grantees made up of the leading groups in Kenya that deal with the blind, deaf, and physically handicapped. This is a three-year program, which began in May 1999. Services provided include physical rehabilitation, and vocational training, and provision of training in business and income generation.
Status: Over 400 persons who were disabled by the bombing are receiving assistance through ADRA.

4. Education
Program: The International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) received an initial grant from USAID of $2.5 million to cover education costs of children of those killed or severely disabled by the bombing. Payments are made directly to schools, with costs of public primary and secondary education being covered. This grant will be terminated, at the request of IFRC, in August 2000 (Total expenditure $546,000). The accounting firm Ernst and Young have received a contract for $900,000 to take over implementation of this program for two years. They will begin paying school fees in September 2000.
Status: Some 770 children have been identified by IFRC for eligibility in the program. Over 500 children have received school fees for the 3rd term 1999, 1st and 2nd term 2000.

5. Blood Safety:
Program: Family Health International received a grant of $700,000 to improve blood safety in Kenya. USAID will also assist in the construction of new blood banking laboratories in Nairobi and Kisumu at a cost of approximately $400,000.
Status: Family Health Institute, CDC and the Ministry of Health have designed an improved blood safety plan. USAID has begun the construction of two blood banks, one in Nairobi and one in Kisumu. FHI is working with the Ministry of Health to improve collection, analysis, storage, and disposition of blood. USAID is in the process of evaluating three other sites for possible blood collection facilities. We should decide by mid-August whether we fund these sites or not.

6. Disaster Preparedness:
The International Medical Corps received a grant of $284,000 from USAID shortly after the bombing to provide emergency and first responder training for public and private hospitals in and outside of Nairobi, and more advanced training for doctors, nurses, and ambulance corps in dealing with casualties and other emergencies. IMC submitted another proposal ($2.5 million) to expand that program for 18 months.
Status: A Cooperative Agreement to implement that proposal was signed in July 2000.

7. Lessons Learned/Research:
Program: "Lessons Learned" document and article for Frontlines magazine.

Program: The University of Oklahoma has submitted a proposal to do research on the clinical findings of the mental health program in Nairobi. It will compare the findings here with the findings in Oklahoma City following the bombing of the Murrah Building ($130,000).

Infrastructure and Business Rehabilitation -- Total Available: $24 million

1. Cooperative Bank Building
Program: USAID has agreed to rehabilitate the Cooperative Bank Building, including modifications to make staff more mentally comfortable returning to the building. Co-Op Bank will also decide on other design changes arising from the bombing.
Status: After a rigorous bidding process, USAID signed a design-build contract in November with Mugoya Engineering and Construction to rehabilitate the Co-Op Bank building at a cost of $7.5 million. Construction activities are accelerating and it is hoped that the scheduled date of completion is August 2001.

2. Ufundi Cooperative House
Program: USAID will assist Ufundi to purchase a replacement building of similar size and rental income to the one destroyed. This will allow Ufundi to begin receiving rental income much more quickly than construction of a new building.
Status: USAID is in the process of assisting in the purchase of Garden Plaza for Ufundi House, which was completely destroyed by the bombing. USAID expects that the complete hand over of the new building will take place by the end of August 2000.

3. Other Damaged Buildings
Program: Includes assistance to approximately 60 buildings damaged by the bomb. USAID hired Matrix Development Associates to assess damages and review pertinent documentation as to repair costs incurred or expected to be incurred. Matrix concluded its verification of losses, and grants are under preparation to assist building owners with repair costs.
Status: Three privately owned buildings and four GoK buildings remain to receive grants. They will need to provide documentation that they have begun legal proceedings against their insurance companies before they can receive their grants.

4. Small Business Assistance
Program: Provided assistance to approximately 255 small businesses in the form of grants to help replace fixed assets and stocks lost or damaged in the bombing. USAID contracted with KPMG Peat Marwick to verify losses. Selection criteria were established to create a balanced program. The Kenya Management Assistance Program (KMAP) also received a grant of $325,000 to provide capital grants and operating loans to an additional 44 small businesses.
Status: KMAP has programmed all of the funds under their grant to 44 businesses. Based upon the final report of KMPG Peat Marwick, USAID has distributed over $2.5 million to more than 250 small and medium-sized businesses to assist in their economic recovery.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
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