This archive report was first published on 20 May 2020.
On August 7, 1998, simultaneous attacks on US embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam killed 224 people and injured thousands.
Twenty-two years later, the US Supreme Court has ordered Sudan to pay Sh460 billion in damages to the victims of the terrorist attacks.
The court's decision stems from a suit against Sudan, which was accused of aiding the Al Qaeda terror group to carry out the bombings.
According to the court, Al Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden received support and protection from Sudan's intelligence and military to carry out the two bombings.
Bin Laden was killed on May 2, 2011, by US Navy Seals in a raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
After the embassy bombings, nearly 600 families of victims who died and those who were maimed pursued Sudan before US courts.
US Supreme Court Judge Neil M Gorsuch, who read the judgement on behalf of his colleagues, found that the Appeals Court erred in shielding Sudan from paying punitive damages.
“Having now decided that punitive damages are permissible for federal claims... it follows that the court of appeals must also reconsider its decision concerning the availability of punitive damages," he said.
