(18 Aug 1998) English/Nat
The U-S Secretary of State has made her second stop in a lightening tour to show support for the two East African countries in which terrorists targeted American embassies on August 7.
Madeleine Albright arrived in Kenya directly from Tanzania.
Her visit coincided with the funeral in Nairobi of Rose Wanjiku Mwangi, who rescuers had struggled in vain to save from under the rubble of the bombed-out U-S embassy.
Madeleine Albright said the site of the blast in the Kenyan capital Nairobi reminded her of the Nazi Blitz of London during World War Two.
Albright’s trip to Nairobi was delayed by two hours after an engine on her military jet overheated.
In the Tanzanian capital Dar es Salaam, Albright and her entourage transferred to smaller U-S aircraft which have been in Nairobi since the August 7 blasts.
She was greeted on the tarmac at Nairobi’s Jomo Kenyatta International Airport by Kenyan Foreign Minister Bonaya Godana and by U-S ambassador to Kenya Prudence Bushnell, who was slightly injured in the blast.
Albright laid wreaths at the site of the bomb with Prudence Bushnell by her side.
In an open-air press conference, Albright vehemently condemned the attacks which killed 257 people, including 12 Americans in Nairobi, and injured more than 5,500.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
“Why should this nation of good and proud people be singled out along with Tanzania. There is no reason. But terror is not about reason. It’s about hate and we reject hate. It’s about destruction and the people of Kenya and the United States reject destruction. We are builders. The terrorists would like nothing better than to drive us apart. We must not let them, we will not let them.”
SUPER CAPTION: US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
The U-S Secretary of State also defiantly defended the actions of the U-S Marines, who have been openly criticised by some Kenyans.
SOUNDBITE: (English)
“I know there’s anguish about what happened in the aftermath of the bombing. And I cannot say we acted perfectly, but I believe that allegations of callousness are wrong. In the circumstances, amidst the horror, the fears and the different jobs that had to be done, it’s not surprising that there were misunderstandings. The U-S Marines limited access to the embassy not out of indifference, but because they were afraid the weakened building would collapse and trap new victims in order to keep people away from the burning fuel tanks and because they were concerned about the possibility of a second terrorist attack.”
SUPER CAPTION: US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright
On the same day as Albright’s visit the funeral of Rose Wanjiku Mwangi took place.
Her struggle to stay alive under the rubble made her come to symbolise the tragedy of the U-S Embassy bombing.
After 15-hundred mourners attended her funeral in a Nairobi church, hundreds of mourners gathered around her grave on a small farm 15 kilometres (9 miles) outside the capital.
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