By kokumu
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BY PETER OKUMU
More than 4 million people live in Nairobi. Of these, more than half reside in slums. Life is not easy by any standards as many as 1200 people reside on one square hectare, in shacks as small as 10 by 10 feet.
Known for their poverty, disease outbreaks and gang violence, slum life is a picture of the wider degeneration of today’s society.
The Kibera slum in Nairobi is home to over 200,000 people from different tribes. It has been described as the largest informal settlement in Africa.
Covering approximately 230 hectares split by the Nairobi Kisumu railways, Kibera is a maze of mad houses with rusted corrugated iron sheet without any social amenity.
On a typical day, amidst the noise of blurring music and noise of children playing allover, is the smell chapatti being fried mingled with the smell of roast meat.
Rows of houses are separated with open trenches carrying ever-present acrid odor of human waste.
This is a representation of life in all the slums of Nairobi.
Stella Atieno has lived this live for the past ten years. She is now 40 years and a mother of five. She does menial jobs in the neighboring estates that surround the slum, while her eldest daughter 23 sells vegetables to the slum residents.
She said it’s not her choice to live in Kibera. “My husband died three years ago, so I had to fend for myself and my children.” She said.
The main reason for sticking in the slum, she said was the affordable house-2, 000 a month and the free water and electricity, which refuse to disclose the modes of connection.
Her first-born boy, 24, is the only one who has managed to go to school up to the fourth form, but now works in industrial areas EPZ, earning 3,000 a month. Her daughter got pregnant at the age of 16 and has so far brought another child in the family, from her broken marriage.
“We all try to bring in something at the end of the day.” Atieno says.
Most of the slum population does small-scale businesses within the slums, with some working in industrial area where they earn an average of 3000 shillings a month.
House wives move to neighboring estates to do household chores like washings, earning around 200 shilling a day or 1500 shillings a month.
It beats sense how a family can budget for their daily needs with only 70 shillings.
Atieno says, most families in Kibera actually makes do with such budget. That it is impossible to save for the hay-days, and families make do with only one meal a day.
“ I give my children porridge in the morning or strong tea. Those who go to school get lunch there, thanks to world food program.” While those who remain behind have to wait for the evening meal, which in most cases consist of Ugali and sukuma wiki, roughly costing- onions/tomatoes- 10 shillings, sukuma wiki for six-20 shillings, maize meal-20 shillings and paraffin for the stove, or charcoal-20 shillings.
Interestingly though, some slums have unlimited access to free electricity and water.
Somson Nyonga, another Kibera resident said that residents usually collude with Kenya power employees who supply unlimited electric connection to landlords. At e fee, the landlords in turn redistribute the power to other houses.
Nyonga said, you could get a connection for a monthly fee of 300 shillings.
A Kenya power and lighting employee, who requested for anonymity, said power supply in kibera and other slums in Nairobi, are known by the authority.
He said the company had allowed these connections because in the past, they used to tap power from passing high voltage lines. There were also threats by the slum dwellers to the company, if they were not allowed electricity like other Kenyans.
“In Kibera one can do a melting business at low cost or illegal connection.” Said Nyonga.
It is even believed that high power consuming businesses like welding, are being done in the middle of Kibera slum, and the traders are paying nothing to the power company.
Similarly, the high population has unlimited free or, low cost water supply, unlike their neighbor, Nyayo Highrise estate.
“ This people have free flowing water while our pipes are dry through out.” Said a resident of Highrise.
It is believed that pipes that supply water to Highrise Estate is controlled from within Kibera. They are allowed to have water only two times a week.
A resident stated that Kibera residents must have water, or else, they are capable of infecting the whole of Nairobi with waterborne diseases.
Most slums have their own set of rules and regulation, with still penalties to those who contravene the rules.
In Katwekere within kibera, they have set rules on rape, harassment of children and even penalties for those who impregnate girls in the slum.
“ A stranger is easily identified even if you share the same language.” Said Nyonga. They are able to tell if you belong to the slum or just visiting, and one has to be escorted by a resident.
“ We can see you have a visitor, does he mean well?” is the question one would here whispered to any host who takes anyone there.
According to Nyonga, slum dwellers protect people who do crime, and any one clean-shaven is an immediate suspect, as law enforcer.
“ Police have no place in some of these slums.” He said.
Instead, slums have elaborate security systems enforced by some people known to be criminals in the slums.
Kibera for example is an enclave of communities from the rural areas, who came to town looking for jobs, and others ended up engaging in crime. There are those who sale hardcore drugs, while others deal outside their enclave.
They have a silent code similar the Sicilian Mafia code of conduct –Omata (silence), and any one who reveals the dealing of the group is dealt with accordingly, death.
There are places where were people don’t go at night, like Darajani in Kibera which has been nicknamed kichinjio.
Infact one who venture around there at 9.00pm, better have money with you, or be killed.
Each village has its own gang that protects it against another in the slum. Traders inside the slums are expected to pay protection fee, before bringing in their products.
They are so informed about all that happens around them, and don’t like a link to the normal society.
Although shops have license from the city council, they are not allowed inside the slum. Kids borne in the slums are at the mercy of God due to the hopelessness that awaits them. They have a wanton that they have to live like that, accepting condemnation. The very old do have options of returning to their ancestral home but have decided to stay put. Some of them have categorically refused to move into the new houses put up by the slum upgrading initiative.
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