Compensation claims by victims of the Kenyan bomb blast in August 1998 are unfair, US authorities say.

The massive destruction and loss of lives in the 1998 Nairobi bombing should be blamed on terror merchant Osama bin Laden, an embassy official said yesterday.

"The US did not bomb, kill, or wound anyone in Nairobi. International terrorist Osama bin Laden did," said spokesman Thomas Hart.

More than 250 Kenyans and a dozen Americans died in the bombing of the US Embassy in Nairobi.

The US says it gave Sh3.4 billion to Kenyans, but in a suit filed in the US, the 5,000 victims now seek Sh400 billion in compensation.

"Just as it would be unfair for American citizens to ask compensation from the Kenyan government by suggesting it failed to provide security in Nairobi, so is it unfair for Kenyan citizens to suggest that the US government owes them money," said Mr Hart, the counsellor for public affairs at the embassy.

The Daily Nation yesterday reported that a new law in US offers $11 billion (about Sh858 billion) compensation for American victims of the Nairobi bombing and of the attacks on New York and Washington last September 11.

The article claimed that the lopsided move threatened to spark another round of outrage from Kenyan bomb victims and their families, who have lodged a Sh400 billion compensation from the US government.

But yesterday, Mr Hart said that although provisions for compensation existed, the size of the compensation or the awards was still murky.

"No such law has been passed," he said. "There is no $11 billion government fund guaranteeing at least $1 million for each victim of the September attack."

Mr Hart said following the Nairobi bombing, his government donated Sh3.4 billion to Kenyans "out of humanitarian compassion, not because we were responsible".

He said there was no distinction between American and Kenyan victims of the September 11 attacks and also of the Nairobi bombing.

American authorities have yet to decide the level of compensation for the victims of the September 11 attacks, the embassy official said.

Other officials at the embassy warned of the possibility of rogue lawyers subtly pushing Kenyan victims to pursue "phantom compensation".

American law of tort provides that lawyers pursuing compensation claims earn in excess of 30 per cent of the award.

Fears are that the allure of such big money had made lawyers to push Kenya victims to crusade for further compensation.

Mr Hart drew attention to the sources of the news reports who, he said, were "lawyers, a Washington lawyer, a Washington attorney, and a California lawyer".

He said the Nation had "been used as a tool to provoke ill-will and understanding" over the issue of compensation for the bomb blast victims.

We gave Sh3.4 billion to Kenyans out of compassion, says official