21 August 1998
(8/21 departure statement) (1190) WASHINGTON -- FBI Director Louis Freeh August 21 concluded a one-day visit to Kenya and Tanzania, where he conferred with U.S. and African officials conducting a criminal investigation into the bombing of the U.S. Embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam. In his departure statement from Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, Freeh noted that "we spent a great deal of time on the crime scene, getting briefings with respect to the development of the case. And I discussed with my law enforcement counterparts the measures that we had undertaken to further our investigations and what remains to be done to conclude the criminal investigation with respect to that particular venue." Free said that he was briefed by FBI personnel "on the scene, but also from [by] the Kenyan officers, who are our full partners in this joint task force." Following is the text of his remarks, as prepared for delivery: (BEGIN TEXT) FBI Director Louis Freeh Departure Statement Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Nairobi, Kenya August 21, 1998 Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. Let me just make a brief statement to describe to you the purpose of my visit and some of the events that took place, and I will be happy to try to answer a couple of your questions. First of all, on the two-week anniversary of the bombings both here in Kenya and in Tanzania, I want again to express my condolences to the families of the many victims -- the Kenyans, the Tanzanians, the Americans, the other people who were injured by these two heinous crimes. And as we conduct our investigation, in conjunction with our partners both here and in Tanzania, we once again want to express our deep condolences and our prayers for the families and the horrible tragedy which has befallen both countries, and all of the innocent lives that were lost. I began my visit yesterday, as you probably know, in Tanzania. I visited there with the FBI personnel who have been on the ground now for over a week conducting the criminal investigation. In conjunction with our partners in the Tanzanian police forces, we met with their Minister of Home Affairs, the Attorney General, the Charg‚ and all of the individuals who have been heroically and professionally responding to the events of last week. We spent a great deal of time on the crime scene, getting briefings with respect to the development of the case. And I discussed with my law enforcement counterparts the measures that we had undertaken to further our investigations and what remains to be done to conclude the criminal investigation with respect to that particular venue. I arrived here, as you know, yesterday afternoon, and I have had a series of meetings, first of all with the Police Commissioner, Commissioner Wachira. I met with Attorney General Wako this morning. The [CID] Director and I have been discussing the case since my arrival. I received briefings both from the FBI personnel on the scene, but also from the Kenyan officers who are our full partners in this joint task force. I visited the embassy both last night to make my own assessment and again this morning, and spent time with our personnel thanking them and thanking our police partners here for what has been a textbook model of how law enforcement agencies around the world work together when cases of this magnitude, which affect many countries, need and require the concerted, coordinated efforts of all involved. And I expressed my appreciation to the Police Commissioner and to the Attorney General, and asked them to convey to President Moi our deep appreciation -- that of the FBI and the Federal Government of the United States -- for the extraordinary support which they have shown to us. The manner in which our officers have jointly conducted this investigation has, for me, been a great privilege to see, and I told them how very proud and very honored we were to be participating in the investigation. We spent some time discussing with our forensic experts, both here and in Tanzania, with respect to the status of those findings. We are beginning on a preliminary basis to see forensic similarities at the crime scenes, both here and in Dar, and of course those conclusions are very important with respect to our analysis and ultimate conclusions with respect to that aspect of the case. In both countries, as well as in other countries, further investigation is being conducted. I am not at liberty to describe that to you or detail it to you, nor am I able to speak about any witnesses or potential subjects. We don't, as you know, when we conduct criminal investigations, generally identify the subjects of those cases, or comment on the witnesses or the state of the evidence. What I will say is from the law enforcement point of view, both Commissioner Wachira and I, as well as my counterparts in Tanzania, are very satisfied with the progress of the case. We have some developments that we are optimistic about furthering. But this is an investigation of a complex case, which has implications as well as potential for investigation in more than one country and we will need some time to analyze both the information that we have and the information that we develop. We ask once again, as we have in the past, for the public both here in Kenya and in Tanzania and anywhere else to come forward to the FBI, to the Kenyan police, to the Tanzanian police, to any other law enforcement authority, with any information which could assist us in solving this case and gathering the necessary evidence. And we have received very good cooperation from the public, both here and in other countries. And we are certainly dependent on that to assist us in our investigation. I want to also express my appreciation to Ambassador Bushnell for her support of our investigation, but more importantly to commend her for her courage and leadership under very difficult conditions, as well as the Charg‚ John Lange, in Tanzania, with whom I spent some time yesterday. I've told all of the investigators in the case, both FBI personnel and officers from Tanzania and Kenya, how very proud I am of their devoted and committed work and the skill with which they are conducting this investigation. And we will give them support both from the United States and from this country and from Tanzania and I know all over the world where we have counterparts and people committed to the prevention and solving of these types of crimes. We will have a united law enforcement community and spare no effort, and not be concerned about any time frame with respect to completing and finishing our investigation. I'm going to go back to Washington today. I'll report my findings to our Attorney General and other members of our government, and we will continue to support and enhance this investigation, taking again whatever steps that are necessary. Thank you very much. (END TEXT)