Kenya the Unseen Majority: Nairobi’S Two Million Slum-Dwellers
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KENYA THE UNSEEN MAJORITY: NAIROBI’S TWO MILLION SLUM-DWELLERS HUMAN RIGHTS = LESS POVERTY Amnesty International is a global movement of 2.2 million people in more than 150 countries and territories who campaign to end grave abuses of human rights. Our vision is for every person to enjoy all the rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. We are independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion – funded mainly by our membership and public donations. Amnesty International Publications First published in 2009 by Amnesty International Publications International Secretariat Peter Benenson House 1 Easton Street London WC1X 0DW United Kingdom www.amnesty.org © Amnesty International Publications 2009 Index: AFR 32/005/2009 Original language: English Printed by Amnesty International, International Secretariat, United Kingdom All rights reserved. This publication is copyright, but may be reproduced by any method without fee for advocacy, campaigning and teaching purposes, but not for resale. The copyright holders request that all such use be registered with them for impact assessment purposes. For copying in any other circumstances, or for re-use in other publications, or for translation or adaptation, prior written permission must be obtained from the publishers, and a fee may be payable. Front cover photo : Behind the shacks of Kibera lies the temporary accommodation site for the pilot upgrading project in Soweto East, still not habitable due to lack of sewerage services when photographed in March 2009. © Amnesty International Back cover photos: School children in Mathare 4A; Joyce Wanjiku Mbura, a Soweto resident whose house and shop were demolished during a road-widening project. © Amnesty International CONTENTS 1. Introduction .............................................................................................................3 2. Nairobi’s burgeoning slums........................................................................................6 Inadequate access to clean water ................................................................................8 Absence of sanitation.................................................................................................9 Lack of clinics, schools and roads .............................................................................10 3. Violations of the right to adequate housing ................................................................12 Denial of security of tenure.......................................................................................13 Forced evictions ......................................................................................................13 Deep Sea settlement.............................................................................................16 Nairobi River clean-up programme .........................................................................19 4. Slum upgrading ......................................................................................................22 Kenya Slum Upgrading Programme............................................................................22 Immediate needs sacrificed ......................................................................................28 Failing the most vulnerable.......................................................................................29 5. Conclusion and recommendations.............................................................................30 Endnotes ...................................................................................................................32 Kenya: The unseen majority 3 Nairobi’s two million slum-dwellers 1. INTRODUCTION “The waste water passes through open drains and snails through the compound and through the neighbouring houses and into the river …” Mama Esther, a resident of Mukuru settlement Life is precarious for the approximately 2 million people who live in Nairobi’s informal settlements and slums. They make up over half the capital’s population yet are crammed into only 5 per cent of the city’s residential area and just 1 per cent of all land in the city.1 They are forced to live in inadequate housing and have little access to clean water, sanitation, healthcare, schools and other essential public services. They also live under the constant threat of forced eviction from the makeshift structures they have made their homes.2 People have lived in slums in and around Nairobi since the city’s formation at the turn of the 20th century.3 Over the years, government responses have failed to ensure the state’s obligation to realize the human right to adequate housing. Recent government papers and policies have recognized the existence and continued growth of slums and informal settlements in Kenya, but not enough has been done to rectify decades of failure by the state to develop comprehensive and coherent policies to address lack of security of tenure and access to essential services in these settlements. The experience of slum-dwellers starkly illustrates that people living in poverty not only face deprivation but are also trapped in that poverty because they are excluded from the rest of society, denied a say, and threatened with violence and insecurity. Rights are the key for people to break out of the poverty trap. Put simply, respect for human rights demands inclusion, demands that everyone gets a say, demands that those in power protect people from threats to their security. Amnesty International’s Demand Dignity Campaign, launched in May 2009, is exposing and combating the human rights violations that drive and deepen poverty. The campaign is initially focusing on a few key issues, including slums, which sharply demonstrate the connection between deprivation, insecurity, exclusion and denial of opportunities for participation by people in decisions that affect their lives. The overall goal of the campaign is to end the human rights violations that keep people poor. Index: AFR 32/005/2009 Amnesty International June 2009 4 Kenya: The unseen majority Nairobi’s two million slum-dwellers NAIROBI SLUMS VISITED BY AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL Kibera, a vast slum south-west of Nairobi’s centre, emerged in 1912 when a group of former soldiers from the Nubian community, who had served in the British army, were granted temporary rights to settle on a small area of densely forested land.4 Over time the government authorized other people to settle there. Today, up to 1 million people live on about 550 acres of Kibera land, most of it owned by the government.5 Amnesty International delegates visited three of Kibera’s many villages – Soweto East, Laini Saba and Lindi.6 Soweto East covers about 52.8 acres and hosts up to 25,000 people. Laini Saba and Lindi stand on around 47 and 28 acres respectively and both host about 100,000 people. In all three villages, up to 90 per cent of residents are tenants.7 Mathare was established in about 1963 on government land by a group of independence fighters.8 The total population is unknown. It too is divided into villages. Part of the settlement is on government-owned public land but most is on land owned by private companies and individuals. Amnesty International delegates visited three of Mathare’s settlements – Bondeni, Mathare 4A and Mathare 4B. Bondeni stands on about 58 acres and hosts up to 10,000 people. Structure owners (resident in the settlement) comprise up to 40 per cent of the residents; the rest are tenants. Mathare 4A stands on about 23 acres and hosts 23,000 people, most of them tenants. Mathare 4B covers about 18 acres and hosts up to 12,000 people,9 with up to 80 per cent of them tenants living on government land. Korogocho is an informal settlement started in the early 1980s. Over half of the land is government/public land and the rest is privately owned. It is estimated that over 120,000 people stay in about seven villages of Korogocho. Amnesty International delegates visited one of the villages, Ngunyumu, home to up to 9,800 people living on 45 acres mostly owned by the government.10 Although the average size of rooms is similar to other settlements, the houses in Korogocho are of a more permanent nature with walls of building blocks and iron- sheet roofing. The majority of residents are tenants. Mukuru Kwa Njenga is home to an estimated 75,000 people and lies 10km south-east of Nairobi’s city centre. The settlement began in 1958 when farm labourers lived there on land that was then owned by white settlers.11 It subsequently attracted the urban poor who built makeshift homes. Today, it covers about 80 acres of government-owned land allocated on 99-year leases to private owners.12 Deep Sea is in Nairobi’s north-west Westlands division. The first group of residents moved there in 1963 onto what was then untitled public (forest) land. Today, an estimated 7,000 people are said to be living on 33 acres, most of them tenants. Issued as part of the Demand Dignity Campaign, this report provides an overview of the human rights issues raised by the Kenyan government’s approach to slums and informal settlements. Subsequent Amnesty International reports will examine in greater detail the human rights issues faced by residents of informal settlements in their access to affordable, habitable housing and access to essential services. This report draws on interviews with individuals and focus group discussions conducted by Amnesty International delegates in December 2008 and February/March