Oslo District Court has awarded Steve Dennis compensation for financial and non-financial loss of NOK 4.4 million. The court found that NRC was grossly negligent in regards to the safe-guarding of staff during the visit of the Secretary General in Dadaab in 2012.
“We will now need time to evaluate all the aspects of the verdict before we decide whether to appeal the ruling,” said NRC Deputy Secretary General, Geir Olav Lisle.
On 29 June 2012, a group of armed men opened fire on an NRC convoy in the IFO II Dadaab Refugee Camp in Kenya. Several people suffered gunshot wounds and one driver was fatally injured. Four NRC staff were abducted and taken across the border into Somalia. NRC’s then Secretary General, the Regional Director for the Horn of Africa and the Area Manager for Dadaab managed to escape the scene unharmed. The abducted staff were rescued and returned to Kenya four days later.
Steve Dennis was one of the NRC staff abducted in Dadaab. He filed a claim against NRC seeking financial and non-financial damages on the basis that the kidnapping and subsequent loss of work ability was directly caused by negligence and gross negligence on NRC’s part in Dadaab in 2012.The court case took place in Oslo in late October this year.
“It is important to underline that the Dadaab attack profoundly impacted the entire organisation and that NRC deeply regrets the loss and the traumatic experience suffered by all NRC staff in Dadaab in June 2012. It has been important for us to learn from the incident and we will continue to learn from this in the time to come, Lisle said.
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