They sought declarations that the State violated victims’ rights by failing to detect, prevent or stop the attack, compensation for survivors and families, and orders compelling the Attorney General to pursue international claims against Sudan, Iran or Al-Qaeda assets.

In its defence, the State denied having any specific or actionable intelligence prior to the bombing, stating that it only had general information about heightened terrorist threats in the region.

Justice Mugambi agreed with the State, holding that the evidence presented by the petitioners lacked credibility and probative value.

“It cannot be established, on the basis of the material placed before this court, that the government was aware of the attack or that it failed to act on any intelligence,” the court ruled.

The judge faulted the petitioners for relying on unproven and hearsay material drawn from publications and reports whose authors neither testified nor filed affidavits.

“The authors of these reports and publications were neither caused to testify nor did they file affidavits indicating the contents of those reports on alleged prior intelligence information. The facts relied upon to arrive at the conclusions in those reports cannot be verified. Basically, it is hearsay evidence,” Justice Mugambi said.

The court also rejected reliance on findings from United States court proceedings that held Sudan and Iran liable for the attacks.

“In my view, the U.S. statements in the reports cannot be relied upon as substantive evidence to prove disputed evidentiary facts that the Government of Kenya failed to act on prior intelligence,” the judge stated.

“In any event, I have gone through the three statements carefully, and I do not find anywhere where the American courts made findings that the Government of Kenya was negligent or complicit in the U.S. Embassy terrorist attacks by Al-Qaeda terrorists.”

Justice Mugambi noted that U.S. courts clearly placed responsibility for the attacks on the Republic of Sudan.

On constitutional claims, the judge ruled that no violations had been proved.

“The court finds that the petitioners failed to prove that the respondents acted in a manner that violated the rights of the persons who died in the bomb attack. There is therefore no liability on the part of the respondents,” he declared.

The court also dismissed the prayer seeking to compel the Attorney General to advise the President to establish a commission of inquiry, ruling that the power lies solely with the President.

“ As per the law the matter of establishing a Commission of Enquiry lies with the President exclusively, To grant this prayer would amount to meddling with the independence of another independent officer,” Justice Mugambi said.

He further rejected requests by the petitioners to force the Attorney General to pursue reparations from foreign states, invoking the political question doctrine.

“Whether the government of Kenya should take legal action against the government of Sudan, Iran, or France, or French bank BNP Paribas for their suspected involvement in the U.S. embassy terrorist attack on Kenyan soil, requires delicate weighing of many factors that include high-level political consequences,” the judge stated.

“This court feels restrained to take such actions… I find that the political question doctrine applies on all fours in relation to the aforementioned prayers,” he added.

Following the ruling, victims’ lawyer John Mwariri expressed disappointment saying the judgment failed to recognise the suffering endured by survivors and families for over 25 years.

“We respectfully disagree with the findings of the court.Our clients have waited for justice for over 25 years, and this judgment does not address the core issue of state responsibility to protect its citizens,”Mwariri said.

“We have instructions to appeal, and we are confident that the appellate court will re-examine the evidence and the constitutional questions raised in this case,” the lawyer said

On August 7, 1998, al-Qaeda operatives detonated a massive truck bomb outside the U.S. Embassy in downtown Nairobi, killing 213 people and injuring more than 5,000 other most of them Kenyan civilians.

Minutes later, a second bomb exploded at the U.S. Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, killing 11 people and injuring about 85.

The Nairobi blast collapsed the neighbouring Ufundi Building, incinerated a commuter bus on Haile Selassie Avenue and shattered windows within a half-mile radius, causing severe injuries to hundreds.