14 | Slum Profiles | Westlands Division MJIWA KIBAGARE DEEP SEA MAASAI DAM WESTLAND SUSWA KAPTAGAT NITD WARUKU

Nairobi Inventory | 15 In 1986, the City Council presented the resi- dents with a notice to pay Ksh. 100, 000 as Council land rates for the plot they are settled on. The residents did not pay, firstly because the land has not been allocated to them and second because they could not raise the amount. This notice only served to indicate that the land could have already been allocated to a third party. In 1999, a fire burned down the entire village. Residents say this was not the first time and they saw it as an attempt to evict them. After the 1999 fire the local authorities barred them from reconstructing their structures. They decided to stay on and eventually the area D.O. allowed them reconstruct.

According to the residents, the settlement is on City Council land measuring approxi- mately 0.25 acres. They however do not have any proof of this.

The population is estimated at 1820 people. The adults constitute 56% of the population

16 | Slum Profiles | Westlands Division There are 150 structures in the settlement. More than 70% of the structures are built us- ing old iron sheets with carton lining on the insides of the houses while some 30% of the structures are newer built using iron sheets pro- vided by the Westland’s Consolata church. There are six cement-based structures in the settle- ment. Most structures comprise a single 8ft by 9ft room. Typically each room houses a single household, though a few households occupy more than the single room. In some instances the rooms have been partitioned to make room for a rental space. Half the structures are owned by resident structure owners while the other half by absentee. In most cases the structure owners own a single room, though a few own up to four rooms. Tenants make up a third of the popula- tion. Rents vary from 500 to 1000 shillings per month. $ 145 = ±80 Ksh. • The residents cite the Highridge NCC clinic and Kenyatta National Hospital as their main health care facilities

• Suswa has four communal toilets and four com- munal bathrooms The toilets have piped water and are connected to the city’s sewer system. A majority of the residents working force is em- • The settlement also has a piped water point ployed as domestic workers in the surrounding that acts as clothes washing area. Water is sold Parklands and Westlands suburbs. A few are at Ksh. 2/- per 20 litre can. either small business people or casual laborers. • There is no electricity service in this settlement. • Children from the settlement attend nursery school at the school in neighboring Deep Sea settlement. Others go to school either at the Highridge City Council Primary School or North Highridge School. There is an artisan workshop training at Deep-sea village open to the youth in Suswa.

Nairobi Inventory | 17 Gradually they have been squeezed through the allocation of land to private developers to oc- cupying the tiny piece of land with private resi- dential houses and schools taking up the places they used to farm. Masai is situated in Highridge area.

They have over the years experienced evictions. On 14, July 1995, the settlement was complete- ly demolished and the residents beaten up - es- pecially the leaders. They stayed out in the cold for seven months; they would cover themselves with polythene papers at night and put them in their bags during the day. Their building materi- als were carried away by the City Council askar- is. They had to start all over again by building simple structures in 1996. In 1998, a fire broke out and the whole village was gutted killing one person and destroying virtually all the property in the settlement. In December 2001 another fire left 2 people dead. This was seen to have been an arsonist’s work as houses had been locked on the outside. The local administration has been hindering reconstruction efforts made by the residents. There are no CBOs/NGOs in the settlement and residents have in many in- stances relied on assistance from outside for every kind of development. Indeed the intervention by the Catholic priest was one of these efforts although his assistance met a lot of opposition from the area Provincial Administration.

18 | Slum Profiles | Westlands Division This settlement occupies one eighth of an acre. The residents say the land is privately owned.

Estimated at 183 people in 61 households.

There are 61 single roomed structures measur- ing 9 by 10 feet each and mainly built using iron sheets.

• There is no electricity in this settlement. • Access to Masai is through a narrow path that leads out to Parklands Fifth Avenue. • There are 4 latrines and 2 bathrooms in Masai, built with iron sheets, and having cemented floors. The facilities are connected to the main sewer system. These facilities were built through the assistance of the Consolata Church. Most residents are engaged in small businesses that include producing and selling traditional • Masai has piped water that is sold at Ksh.2 per brews. The residents say that less that ten peo- 20 liters can. The water project is managed by ple are formally employed. One resident keeps the villagers and sustained through the vending two goats. of the water. • Masai has a poor drainage system so that do- mestic wastewater and rainwater flow along the settlement’s paths.

• Garbage is thrown into the river near the vil- lage. This same river had served as the village’s latrine before the latrines were put up.

Nairobi Inventory | 19 In 1978, some people started claiming owner- ship to this land. The residents petitioned Min- istry of Lands concerning this development and reported that the title documents that had been issued to the people claiming ownership was cancelled. Later these individuals petitioned the Lands Board and made some sub-divisions that make the settlement today. In 1990, the settlement was demolished and residents spent nights in the cold on the V-island on the junction to Loresho town, and Kangemi. Several attempts to fence off the settlement once they were moved out have been resisted by the residents and several arrests have been made. A 1998 court case dismissed the claim of ownership by an individual whose fence had been demolished by the residents.

Kaptagat is located on a road reserve. The land size is less than 2 acres. There are 5 plots around the settlement. These are 241,837,838,839 and 840. Plots 839 and 840 are titled to private indi- viduals while 841 is private but with no title yet. They all used to be a part of the village.

20 | Slum Profiles | Westlands Division There is an estimated population of 1600 peo- ple living in the village of Kaptagat. They oc- cupy 400 households, each of which occupies a room measuring 9 by 9 ft or 10 by 10 ft. The average household capacity is 4. Structures are made using either old iron sheets or timber cut-offs. More than 90% of these structures have no cemented floors, while the remaining 10% have cemented floors which are not very well done or are chipping off.

• There are only 8 latrines that serve the entire population of Kaptagat. This translates into 200 people per latrine. They have however been try- Most of the residents in this community are ing to construct latrines to meet the increasing small-scale traders. They are however restrict- population but the area chief has been opposing ed by the area chief and cannot put their items any moves to do so. freely for sale. • There are few built bathrooms - most of the Only one resident is said to be in full-time em- residents bath inside their houses. ployment with a local agro-chemical firm. Most • There are no drainage dikes in the entire settle- of the youthful population in the settlement ment and water flows freely into the river below. are engaged in casual employment in the lo- cal industries around the settlement and in the • Water was connected to the village in 1978 and transport business. These engagements are costs the residents Ksh.3 per 20-litre can. Wa- however infrequent and they are most times ter is also drawn from vendors in at not doing anything much. a cost of ksh. 8 per 20-litre can when there is shortage. Only one resident keeps livestock. Others are traders keeping poultry in transit to the mar- • The village is not connected to electricity and ket. there are only very squeezed paths for access through the village.

Nairobi Inventory | 21 In 1991 the government sought an alternative piece of land in Division, where a hundred and seventy people were resettled. The remaining population was left unsettled in the new site and either gave up or moved into other settlements. The majority however, were not re- moved from this settlement and continue to live here to date. The settlement has been receiving a lot of as- sistance from the Assumption Sisters of Nairobi who also run the St. Martin Centre Kibagare, which is located in the settlement. Apart from the Government’s demolition of the settlement, no one has ever claimed the owner- ship of this land. This could be attributed to its being a road/railway reserve.

Kibagare is situated on a road/railway reserve. This means that it is on public utility land under the trusteeship of the .The land size of the settlement is seven (7) acres according to the residents. The settled area how- ever could measure about 4 acres.

22 | Slum Profiles | Westlands Division It is estimated that the population in this settle- ment is 15,000 people. • There are 3 latrine structures in the settlement, each having three doors, and no bathrooms. There is an estimated population of 3,000 There are seven other private latrines. Therefore, households with an average of 5 people per 16 latrine doors for the entire population trans- household. These households are housed in a late to 938 people per latrine. These latrines single room each, although there are a few oth- are not evenly distributed in the settlement and er ones that are occupying more than a single there is a frequent use of the open spaces. There room but fewer than four. is also the use of flying toilets. • There are no water dikes in the entire settle- ment and water (rain and domestic) drains itself freely in through the structures to the road where it forms small pools in which children play. There is a mixture of structure owners and ten- • Garbage collection is not centralized and there ants in the settlement. 60% of the structure is filth all over the settlement, thus posing obvi- owners own two rooms each. The others own ous risks to the populations there. up to 8 or 10 structures or rooms. Some of the owners are very highly placed individuals in the • The settlement is served with piped water with local and central government. 12 points from which to draw water for free. Fewer than 30% of the structure owners live • There is no electricity connected to this settle- within the settlement. ment. Materials used in construction of the structures • Access to the settlement is by means of an all- include old iron sheets, cartons and mud/wattle weather road that serves the posh Loresho es- trees. There are however a row of newly made tate. It however turns to a dirt road at the start structures that are made of new iron sheets. of the settlement. Less than 40% of the structures have cemented floors.

Allocation fee for structures on the front row is 40% of the settlement residents and especially Kshs. 15,000 and 25,000 for one and two rooms women are involved in small-scale business in respectively. Those behind the front row go for the village or in the nearby Kagemi market. 20% Kshs.10, 000. The local administration officers are involved in casual employment and especial- and elders ask for these charges. ly in the domestic sector in the Loresho, West- Rents for the tenants range between Kshs. 500 lands and Spring Valley areas. Fewer than 10% for the relatively new rooms that also have ce- of the residents are in full-time employment and mented floors and Kshs. 450 for the old rooms the rest are either housewives or unemployed. without cement on the floor.

Nairobi Inventory | 23 The people who had been left were at first un- comfortable in going back home due to the fear that they had co-operated in oppressing the in- digenous population. Others could not go home because they had been left out in the alloca- tion of land in their former areas and therefore sought to settle anywhere else they could find.

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Waruku settlement has witnessed several de- molitions in the past, including the famous de- molitions of the 1970’s and the 1990 Muoroto demolition. To the residents their presence here has been as a result of persistence. The settlement has also had a number of mis- fortunes that included fire outbreaks in 1987 and 1995 that gutted everything in the village. Residents had to construct again from scratch. They have also been facing a lot of opposition from the area Provincial Administration that has been handling their issues with arrogance or in- sensitivity on many occasions.

Waruku is situated on the City Council of Nai- robi’s land. Indeed the area on which it is estab- lished is a shopping centre. The size of the land of the settlement is about half an acre.

24 | Slum Profiles | Westlands Division • There are 9 latrines in the settlement that serve the entire population and also the market nearby. Some of these are very private, so shar- ing is not possible. There is therefore a lot of sharing of the facilities and on filling up, private individuals are called in for a fee of up to Kshs. 3,000 to empty them for continued use. • There are no drainage dikes in the settlement and water runs anywhere especially on the paths in the settlement to drain itself and so does rain water. • The collection of garbage is not centralized and garbage is found anywhere within the settle- ment. • Water is supplied in the settlement and resi- dents are charged Ksh. 3 per 20-litre container. • There is no electricity supply in the settle- ment. • There is an access road to the settlement that is all-weather, from Waiyaki way. However, once inside the settlement, access is by an earth road and paths.

There is an estimated population of about 420 people in Waruku. These people make up 60 households that occu- 60% of the residents of Waruku are involved in py two rooms each with an average of 7 people small-scale businesses within the village and in per household. the nearby Kagemi market. The other 40% are either in the domestic industry or in casual em- The structures in this settlement are made of ployment or unemployed/housewives. old iron sheets, tins and cut-offs from trees. 95% of the structure owners are resident while the remaining 5% acquired land elsewhere but maintained structure ownership in this settle- ment for purposes of renting them out. Nearly all the structures here have no cemented floors.

Nairobi Inventory | 25 All the people who got settled here were struc- ture owners and the numbers have gone up due to population increase. They never used to have piped water before 1986 and they were using the Ruaka River’s water for domestic purposes. This was however interrupted by the channeling of sewage water from Runda in 1988. The settlement at the moment has stretched to occupy the entire area that had been left un- fenced. The residents are not allowed by the au- thorities to expand the settlement onto the vast open land that surrounds their settlement. They in fact were left out as they watched people get allocated the . There have been several claims of owneship by some individuals. However nothing substantial has happened and no demolition or eviction at- tempts have taken place.

This settlement is also known as Mji Wa Huruma. It is located on the City Council’s land on which Mji Wa Huruma home for the aged is located, next to Runda Evergreen estate. This home is run by the Nairobi City Council. The size of the land occupied by both the village and the home is estimated to be 8 acres. Five acres are occupied by the village.

26 | Slum Profiles | Westlands Division • There are 10 latrines that serve the whole vil- lage. Most of the people therefore use open ar- eas near the village. • There are no drainage facilities in the village. Water drains itself through the village to the riv- er below the settlement. There are occasions in which water has flooded into people’s houses. • Garbage is disposed of in the river below the settlement or in the bushes nearby. • Piped water is served to the village and resi- dents pay Ksh. 2 for a 20-litre can. However there is only one tap to draw water in the entire village. • There is no electricity connected to this vil- lage. • Cheleta Primary School serves the village, as does dispensary a Nairobi City Coun- cil facility.

Most of the workforce in this settlement pro- vides manual labour on the coffee farms. There There is an estimated population of 2065 peo- are a few others who are domestic workers and ple living in this settlement. There is a popula- gardeners in the nearby estates of Runda and tion of 413 households with an average of six Evergreen. A very small number are in full-time members each. Each household occupies an es- employment. timated area of 22 by 10 ft. There are a few goats and chickens being reared The entire population of the occupants is struc- in this settlement. Almost every household is in- ture owners. There are no tenants in the settle- volved in keeping either goats or chickens. Resi- ment. dents are however not allowed to graze in the Structures are built using mud and wattle trees open area near the settlement. with the roofing taking the form of iron sheets and tins. Almost all the structures have no cemented floors.

Nairobi Inventory | 27