Muungano News

Volume 001 August/September, 2001. Ripe to manage itself

Decent housing: The dream for over 61,000 Muungano members countrywide.

ungano Support Team (MUST) in June/ development is significant to us as we plan By Aggrey Willis Otieno July 2010. “MUST, the technical wing of to host the largest ever convention of slum Muungano ya Wanavijiji is composed of a dwellers in Kenya towards the end of the group of diverse professionals who have month. Over 3 000 local and international uungano ya Wanavijiji dedicated their expertise to serve Muun- delegates shall participate.” metamorphose in to an inde- gano ya Wanavijiji,” says Irene Karanja, the There are different stages social move- pendent organization. After Executive Director of MUST. ments often pass through. Movements ten years of being mentored According to Mr. Benson Osumba, the emerge for a variety of reasons, coalesce, byM Pamoja Trust, Muungano ya Wanavijiji national chairman of Muungano, “This comes up with its technical wing, the Mu- Continued on Pg 3 Muungano News 2 Local News August/September 2010.

Need for participatory plans and guidelines in evicting people along the railway lines

By Onesmus Kilonzo

Vision 2030 initiative has facilitated the need for growth and expansion of infra- structure and social economic activities in Kenya. This is a progress that pressed Kenya railway to commence a plan for High Speed Electricity railway line. However, there were people living along the Railway line predominantly in Mukuru and Kbera slums. This necessitated urgency for enu- meration process in 2005 to allow for the relocation of the citizens living along the railway line though the preparations got delayed in 2006. At some point in this period residents from Mukuru and Kibera slums in conjunc- tion with Pamoja Trust carried out suc- cessful enumeration and later mobilized and organized groups that were primarily comprised of the people living within the settlements. Some of the groups created during this era from Mukuru included; Mwanzo mpya self help group, Kakiwaki self help group, Kwarasa self help group, Ruarato self help A segment of the railway line with affected slum dwellers. group, Flyover self help group, Ngazi ya Chini self help group, Railway hawkers self served for Kenya Railway expansion, and help group, Sinai Railway hawkers self help 10m space for the Kenya Power and light- group, Mulofi self help group and Rata ing company high voltage electricity line. self help group. All these groups made up Consequently Sinai residences were an umbrella body called NJERUSI (Njenga, evicted to give way for pipeline expansion Reuben, and Sinai). although proper arrangement for compen- The guiding principle was that the sation was already agreed upon. structures were to be constructed 5 meters Habitants in Mukuru held meetings away from the railway line. However, one with the Pamoja trust, Kenya railways and side of the railway line was occupied by the World Bank mainly to discuss the reloca- Kenya Pipeline and the other side by the tion process. It was affirmed that there was Kenya Power and Lighting Company. need to get another piece of a land for Equally in 2010 Kenya pipeline came relocation in which the residents were to in to assert their space which Kenya railway be given 100 acres piece of land in Kamulu has had an agreement with the residents. (Komarocks). This was never to be. This primarily led to another enumeration It has been a call from the slum dwell- being carried out. When the enumeration ers to the Government in defense of their was conducted, 327 structures with at least properties. 2300 persons were required to be relo- The Kenyan Government goal being cated. one of the most urbanized countries might Njerusi network which got shape in not be met if the citizens living in slums 2005 had been saving as a group and later and squatters will not have an decent resi- included the members within the groups dential areas. In 2006 a group of affected to form another larger network named slum dwellers visited an international slums Rusinje (Ruben Sinai and Njenga) dwellers scheme in India where they at- which has 36 committee members in which tended a colloquium and visited one of the thirty peole represented structure owners slums in India affected by railway evictions. and six were tenants’ representatives with Throughout the process they were able equivalent representation from each seg- to come up with a plan on the best way to ment. undertake eviction of the people from the This is a slice of the area affected by Kenya Pipeline claimed a 30m land settlement areas. Moreover, railway reloca- from the railway line on one side and tion exercises should have appropriate repositioning process in another 30m land from the railway was pre- plans. Mukuru and Kibera Slums. Muungano News August/September 2010. Local News 3

The new constitution to transform our politics

By Benson Osumba

Kenyans made a decision on August 4 that has profound implications. The quest for a new constitution was driven by the realization that we need to change our rotten politics which has three pillars: tribalism, corruption, and unfair distribu- tion of public resources. The latter has been commonly referred to as “eating” the national cake. The eating machine has always revolved around presidency. To become a President of Kenya, one was required to coalesce a cabal of tribal chiefs who earned them- selves ministerial posts after delivering votes from their tribes. The ministerial posts were licenses to “eat” and dispense patronage, plum jobs and government contracts to cronies, hand outs to the masses, and hopefully a devel- opment project or two in one’s home area to appease the voters a few months towards electioneering periods. This is now a thing President Mwai Kibaki and Prime Minister Raila Odinga after the esY side of the past. of the referendum won. Ministers shall not be elected politi- cians but appointed after a stringent vet- corruption and unfair distribution of pub- political dispensation are the tribal political ting process by the parliament. A presi- lic resources. barons – the politicians who owe their cur- dential candidate shall no longer promise The separation is further buttressed by rent national positions to the tribal vote. ministerial posts to tribal barons, for even the devolution system (Chapter 11) and The new constitution will not transform if he or she did, this will still be subject to the public finance system (Chapter 12). greedy, parochial tribal chiefs and war confirmation by the Parliament. Both deal with sharing the national cake. lords into benevolent leaders. What it will As a result, if the presidential can- In short, the two chapters put the cake out do is to give us an opportunity to begin to didates cannot guarantee tribal barons in the open and calls for everyone to the build a cohesive, just society. Ministerial posts, it does not therefore pay table to share it in an agreeable manner The writer is the national chairman of Mu- for tribal barons to invest in tribal mobiliza- to all. ungano & A board member of Slum Dwellers tion. By undermining tribal mobilization This is in effect another blow against International. He can be reached through of votes, the new constitution undermines corruption. The first losers in this new [email protected] Ripe to manage itself Continued on Pg 1 within the country is the land within the that the land in question is occupied by City. So, what these politicians would do is people. So what they started doing was to and eventually either institutionalize or to go to the Ministry of Land, and identify go to the police, get policemen with their fragment. a big piece of land in the maps and they guns and forcefully evict people.” “Social movements have a lifecycle would be given Titles,” explains Ms. Jane One of the first cases that Muungano of their own, and move through various Weru, the Executive Director of Akiba did was the case of Kingston when that stages that include: incipiency which is the Mashinani Trust. community was threatened with eviction. birth of the movement, coalescence where However, according to Jane Weru, who Muungano worked closely with NGO the movement becomes a co-operative is one of the founders of Muungano and Council where a committee was set up to force, institutionalize through which the the founding director of Pamoja Trust, look at the issues of eviction and within movement develops into an institution - or “when these politicians go down they find that committee ANPPCAN was very active. – fragments where it falls apart. Muunga- As a result, the NGO council working with no, after being mentored by Pamoja Trust Kituo cha Sheria started pursuing cases of for the last 10 years has chosen not to When these forced evictions. fragment but to institutionalize,” explains The need for awareness creation on Mr. Benson Osumba. politicians go down what to be done by affected communities Muungano started in1995 when there they find that the land during evictions arose. “There were Com- were lots of evictions. “During the Moi munity Organizers that were seconded by government land was used to buy political in question is ANPPCAN to work on these issues. They patronage with the coming of multi party occupied by people started going round building awareness politics. If they wanted to buy a politician, within the communities,” explains Jane they would give them land. Prime land Continued on Pg 7 Muungano News Muungano News 4 Editorial August/September 2010. August/September 2010. Local News 5

Muungano Secure tenure: A prerequisite here we come! for housing the poor

Like that drizzle in the sun shine, which we loved when we were young, today my heart is a pleasant mixture of joy…and yes, pride as I welcome you to enjoy read- ing this edition of Muungano News. After ten years of mentoring, we are now an independent organization. We fi- nally bring you Muungano Support Team (MUST) and Muungano News. Dear readers, it’s only through the hard work of our editorial team who has worked hard to collect, synthesis and produce news and features that you are now able to lay your hands on. This team is indeed a rare breed of young women and men who are members of Muun- gano. With such a team, I can confidently ask you to brace yourself for tantalizing stories. A section of the up graded Kibera slum. In our main stories, we capture the long journey of Muungano in to the birth concentration of abject poverty raises some By Aggrey Willis Otieno of MUST. After over ten years of men- difficult policy issues that are addressed toring, it now becomes an independent within the ambit of the campaign. It must organization. Slum dwellers constitute a growing be self-evident that, for this category of Muungano, an organization estab- proportion of the population of cities, the urban poor, access to land and services lished to counter the evictions that were especially in developing and transitional cannot be governed by ordinary market rampant in the slums now has over 61 000 economies. mechanisms such as an ability to pay. For members countrywide, and we are still The “informal” character of settlements this category of the urban poor, excep- counting. Unfortunately, this newspaper is associated with the quasi-legal or illegal tional policy measures will have to be captures stories of impending evictions residential tenure status of the settlement considered and may, indeed, point to the and relocations in various areas though in population. Slum dwellers lack a legal need for some fundamental rethinking on a small scale level. document or formal agreement with the some of the assumptions and understand- The main attraction for this month is authorities that gives them the right to ings that underpin existing approaches to the international slums convention that reside in the settlement. In some cities tenure. is to be held in Kenya in late August in people have lived in informal settlements There is no fast, easy “quick fix” that collaboration with Slum Dwellers Inter- for generations or have come to feel secure will ensure that all residents of the city national in Nairobi. Over 3000 delegates because they have never experienced the enjoy security of tenure. Muungano for shall be in attendance. threat of eviction. In such cases, infor- instance has adopted an incremental approach, reaching consensus on a set of Now, the ball is on your court. Don’t mal settlements have essentially become initiatives that is commensurate with the let those mouth watering stories within established and residents enjoy “de facto” local situation. your communities go unpublished. Be security of residential tenure. Legislation against the practice of un- part of Muungano and enjoy reading the While de facto tenure may minimize lawful forced evictions is also essential for newspaper. the threat of eviction, it does not provide the rights associated with de jure tenure. security of tenure. Laws that prohibit evic- Where the authorities do not recognize the tion and demolition without due legal pro- informal settlements, residents of the slums cess provide a legal basis for the protection are denied access to urban basic services of citizens and the accountability of public and commercial financial services. Un- officials. However, as residents of slums fortunately, significant number of people throughout the world are painfully aware, living in slums and informal settlements legislation does not necessarily ensure full live with the daily threat of eviction and do protection and accountability, and should not enjoy the relative security of de facto not be considered an end in itself. tenure. In addition, there is need to promote Often, these evictions are accompanied flexible land tenure arrangements. Some by severe violence, with victims on many countries have begun this process by occasions detained, arrested, beaten, tor- instituting block titles to entire sections tured, and in some cases, even killed. Wom- of informal settlements. The block title en and children are undoubtedly those does not provide individual title but rather Muungano News is a publication of who suffer most from forced evictions. designates a selected area, ensuring that Muungano Habari Mashinani, the The Muungano Campaign for Secure media arm of Muungano ya Wanavijiji. Tenure is taking up these issues as part of Email: [email protected] a rights-based approach. The enormous Continued on Pg 7 Muungano News Muungano News 4 Editorial August/September 2010. August/September 2010. Local News 5

Starehe politics and Mwamko Sky is not the youth federation takes charge limit for Staken

Through this programme the rate of Starehe and Kasarani Enviromental By Thuo Kimani crime has significantly gone down. Network[STAKEN] is a Community “Muungano is proud of the youth Based Organisation whose office is at Slums are usually seen as a nuisance. federation. They have brought a lot of Mathare Mlango Kubwa, is formed by This attitude is now changing. Muungano positive change within the informal settle- youth groups dealing with waste plastic ya Wanavijiji has a youth component ments,” say Mr. Benson Osumba the na- materials where they do recycling and called Mwamko Wa Vijana which gives op- tional chairman of Muungano ya Wanavi- later sell them to bigger companies. portunities to the youths to address issues jiji. According to Osumba, youths have Staken was started one year ago out affecting them. initiated income generating activities. of the need to form a network to sort and Mwamko programme was started in Mwamko within Nairobi Slums has pri- market their products. Apart from sort- two areas as pilot project - Dagoretti and marily focused their efforts in gathering ing waste plastics and shredding them Huruma whereby it performed well and information that enables them to negoti- for sale, this organization also mobilizes inspired other slums mostly in Nairobi. ate for the land they occupy. resources. However, according to their cur- rent chairman, Mr. Isaack Muasya, the organization faces several challenges that range from high electricity costs to over dependence on volunteers.

Create jobs for educated youths

By Benard Onyango

Kenya’s education system is well devel- oped compared to many other developing countries. The country offers quality educa- tion to students within East Africa and neighbouring countries. Today, many institutions of higher learning have been established in the country. National universities such as Nairobi, Moi, Maseno, Kenyatta and various col- leges like Universal, Nairobi Aviation and many others continue to produce quality graduates to the job market locally and overseas. However, the painful side of it is that many of the students who graduate from these institutions have lately found it very difficult to get gainful employment. The other sad thing is the recycling educated young women resort to prostitu- Today for instance, it’s very “normal” of the older generation in plum positions tion. to find a graduate hawking wares along that could otherwise be well managed by Some of our graduates hence end up the streets in the City center. Such situa- the Young Turks. This is why professionals in Western countries to seek for greener tions tend to demean the gains Kenya has find themselves in unproductive engage- pastures. made in its education sector. ment. This is one more reason why well Muungano News Muungano News 6 Letters to the Editor August/September 2010. August/September 2010. Local News 7

Time to move on and build on Long live Kenya! I wish to congratulate all Kenyans for conducting themselves in a patritic man- ner and shunning violence during the what we have referendum campaigns and on the voting day. The prophets of doom have been disappointed. I am happy that we have learnt from the past. We should there- fore embrace one another in celebration. Long live Kenya! By Jackline Awino, Lucky Summer. Another demolition of houses in Gitathuru, Mathare As we celebrate the tenth anniversary of Muungano Federation some of our members are about to be displaced from their homes by the government. At least 98% of the members of the federation are affected. As a result the people decided to mobilize themselves and went to the It is usually the talk after the vote that Permanents Secretary in charge of hous- inflames the country. Mr. William Ruto’s as- Kenyans line-up to cast their ballot. ing to lay their grievances. It was then sertion that the referendum has the support (Below) A ballot box. established by Muungano members that of only 45 per cent of voters is not in line with the Permanent Secretary was not aware democratic practices anywhere in the world. of the planned evictions. He should remember the IIEC’s initial After negotiations with NEMA who target was to register 10 million voters but had planned to move people 30 meters they ended up with 12 million. The ‘Yes’ from the river that it was settled that camp got slightly above 6 million votes. the affected residents shall only move If people can register and fail to turn up for only 15 meters. NEMA had since to vote, who is to blame? Even in the parlia- asked the affected residents to register ment of 222 MPs, some motions pass with a with them in anticipation of relocating vote of only 30 MPs present. Does the passed them to 200 acres of land. The affected legislation become of lesser importance? It is residents are frustrated as no action has high time we rest constitutional matters and been taken and they do not know their engage in other more pressing development fate. issues. By Jason Waweru, By Samuel Chesky Onyango, Mathare. Nairobi. Where will the Let's take advantage of the free evicted families go to? movement in the EA region

Kenya Railways Association (KRA) Allow me to encourage fellow slum plans to evict informal settlers who are dwellers, particularly those who are mostly Darajani Youth Group members traders to take advantage of the free in Kibera slum. movement of people, goods, labour and The evictees are supposed to move capital in the five East African Communi- ty member states that began last month. 15 meters away from the railway line. There will be no work permits So far KRA has started digging trenches required across the region. This follows that symbolizes the end point where the coming into effect of the Common dwellers are not supposed to go beyond. Market Protocol. Also to be enjoyed is This has created tension among the the right of establishment. squatters. By Pastor James Mburu, By Anthony Kamau, Korogocho , Nairobi. Nairobi. Muungano News Muungano News 6 Letters to the Editor August/September 2010. August/September 2010. Local News 7

Ripe to manage itself

Continued from Pg 3 “Even though we had been able to stop the settlements Muungano members evictions we still have not been able to ob- inhabit are in different stages of obtaining Weru. tain security of tenure. The organizations security of tenure. “As a result, the affected communities that were supporting Muungano then When Muungano started it was a loose would then come forward and ask for as- came together and decided to form a new coalition of saving schemes. Muungano’s sistance from Kituo cha Sheria and other institution that would mentor Muungano core value has been that the organiza- organizations. With time, these communi- and begin to advocate on the security of tion at the bottom should have the most ties came together and formed the Land tenure. This gave birth to Pamoja Trust in power, in this case are the saving schemes Committee. The committee called itself the year 2000,” says Jane Weru. which to a large extend are autonomous. Muungano ya Wanavijiji in 1995” she Pamoja Trust then worked with According to Jane Weru, alot of Muun- added. Muungano for 10 years on issues of land gano strength lies within the schemes that In the initial five years of existence, tenure not so much being on the defen- build networks within the local level that Muungano was able to fight many cases sive but proactive by developing people forms a region. The regional representa- of evictions. Apart from the Kingston case based methodologies that could be used tives form the national council with its there was the Githunguri case at Spring to obtain tenure. While linking up with own national executive committee. Valley where eventually people were international organizations such as Slum Muungano members through the evicted but the land never really got oc- Dwellers International (SDI), Muungano savings and loans schemes have bought 23 cupied by Githunguri. therefore came up with the concept of acres plot in Greenfield and about 2000 ‘There were other cases such as the federation building, community enumera- people are to be settled there. Over 200 Westland’s market, which Muungano tion based on GIS mapping, negotiation Muungano members are now occupy- fought successfully and people within with the state, and also savings as funda- ing up graded houses in Kambi Moto Westland’s market remained there very mental tools. Huruma. “We also have land at Ghetto many years,” says Benson Osumba. Muungano’s approach has been to Huruma, another in Nakuru, 23 acres of “I think that up to now the market has come up with plans and data then use it land at Toy Market, so is in Kisumu,” adds been up graded and I am not too sure to negotiate with the service providers. In Osumba. under what conditions the traders have most cases the service providers end up Other than working with SDI, Muun- been able to negotiate. There were also adopting the community ideas. Muun- gano also partners with local and inter- the City cotton and many others that I gano has used enumeration over the national universities. “We are currently can’t remember now but in total about years to successfully to counter evictions. teaming up with professionals from the 23 informal settlements were defended,” “Through the data gathered by Muun- University of Nairobi and University of adds Jane Weru. gano, the community negotiates with the Carlifornia, Berkley in spearheading The first five years seemed to be the Municipal councils,” says Benson Osumba. Mathare planning,” says the national most difficult times for Muungano and He further adds that though evictions chairman Mr. Benson Osumba. it had to use a lot of advocacy tactics. are still going on in settlements such as “In addition to that, connection of Amongst them was partnering with other Pipeline it has drastically reduced. “For in- water to 4000 households is going on at organizations to support them and other stance, the Nairobi river basin has stopped Kosovo, Mathare,” explains Jason Waweru, institutions such as the church and the evicting people along the river,” he says. one of the Muungano leaders in Mathare. Catholic Church. Fr. Alex Zanotelli played During those 10 years, Muungano has Muungano has also had several interna- a very key role in the formation of the been able to mobilize over 61 000 savers tional exchange programmes. “Am just Land Caucus to look on eviction issues. who have been able to negotiate for land fresh from Zimbabwe where I learnt a lot With time the threat of evictions got in Huruma and Kahawa Sukari that have of issues affecting slum dwellers,” says An- reduced and then attention turned to lob- been successful and are now dealing with thony Maina, a Muungano youth leader. bying for the acquisition of secure tenure. the Mathare and Timau land issues. All

Secure tenure: A prerequisite for housing the poor

Continued from Pg 4 – and significantly worsened the lives of upgrading offers cost and up-scaling advan- those who were displaced. Rather it can tages over building new units. be achieved by supporting those living in Slum Upgrading is also a means to no evictions or demolitions can take place. ‘slums’ to buy, rent or build better quality mobilise the urban poor around sustained The block titles enable city authorities accommodation. saving schemes. Muungano has efficiently to incorporate parts of the city that were Slum-upgrading programmes pro- used community-based savings and credit previously excluded and begin the process vide perhaps the most important means schemes as their base and these help their of registering, and eventually titling indi- to significantly improve the lives of slum members cope with sudden falls in income vidual holders of land within these parts of dwellers. In many informal settlements, or sudden need for expenditure, as well as the city. agreements have to be brokered between providing credit to support employment Provision of secure tenure is the begin- the original landowners, and those who opportunities. The housing schemes devel- ning of the process that leads to improving actually live there which can be a complex oped by Muungano are exemplary where the lives of slum dwellers. Significantly and conflictual process. the setting up and management of the improving the lives of slum dwellers cannot For most slum inhabitants, upgrading is savings group helps the group to learn to be achieved by bulldozing ‘slums’, which preferable to new homes, because they are manage, finance and organize collectively. simply increases levels of overcrowding already established there with livelihood The author is an International Ford Founda- elsewhere and creates new ‘slums’ in patterns and social networks linked to the tion Fellow at Ohio University, USA & he can peripheral areas outside city boundaries site and the location. For governments, be reached through [email protected] Muungano News Muungano News 8 Local News August/September 2010. August/September 2010. Health & Environment 9

Kosovo water project shows the way

Residents queuing for water at a distribution point. (Right) Mathare Kosovo and Water Company official explaining a point to a customer. the community came up with the idea of access affordable water. It also aims at By Njeri Kimani a community managed water project. Sev- connecting every household of about eral community representatives rallied 4919 households. behind the project and taught people the The project uses a delegated manage- Households in Mathare Kosovo are whole concept though it wasn’t an easy ment model where several committees now connected with piped water. Nairobi task to convince the whole community. were formed. Muungano project com- water in conjunction with Pamoja Trust Muungano, a community based mittee is in charge of role campaigning organized seminars for village leaders so organization rallied behind the project. and facilitating the project starting from that the whole idea was well understood. The project was expected to benefit the water kiosk construction and piping for After piping the entire Kosovo village entire Kosovo community in general to household connections and oversight. with a new water system, the old system The committee is made up of com- was done away with and every household munity representatives from each lane paid Kshs 5,000 for the water meter. and their role is to look for illegal con- Akiba Mashinani Trust helped those nections, solve internal conflicts, report who couldn’t raise the money by giving leakages/vandalism and oversee the them water credit loan. So, far 180 house- smooth flow of the whole project. holds have been connected with the new Muungano project The project has brought a lot of system and have meters in their homes. committee is in charge benefits to the community. Kosovo now Mathare Kosovo is an informal settle- of role campaigning has clean and affordable water. It has also ment situated about five kilometers from brought the authority and other partners the city center. It was started in 1998 after and facilitating the closer to the community, brought down eviction was done at village two. Since project starting from the organized system domination and then, the residents have had illegal water the water company now gets its dues connections. water kiosk construc- promptly. In November 2007, Nairobi Water tion and piping for The whole process was not easy it was Company moved in and disconnected wa- full of challenges ranging from commu- ter complaining that no water was being household connec- nity resistance because of misunderstand- accounted for. At this level, the commu- tions and oversight. ing the idea, resistance form author- nity engaged in a dialogue with the com- ity, lack of site for kiosk construction, pany to come up with a way to resolve the conflict between tenants and structure water crisis and after a long consultation, owners. Muungano News Muungano News 8 Local News August/September 2010. August/September 2010. Health & Environment 9

Lets tackle the underlying causes of rape

the parents silently glued to their seats By Jacklyn Awino enjoying the same. Music channels depict women in sexually suggestive scenes and often play Kenyans must put an end to the worry- lyrics intended to flame sexual feelings. ing trend of rape attacks in the country. Some of these songs are full of vulgar Women, especially young girls are language and sexual innuendo spread- living in a state of fear wondering who ing the message of promiscuity and will be the next victim, even those living sexual perversion. Through the sub con- in areas perceived to be safe. A case scious mind, these scenes are later put in point is a United Nations employee in to action when an opportunity arises. who was raped 3 gates away from State “You can hypnotize people with House. music, when you get them at their weak- However, while seeking ways to end est point in to their subconscious mind the problem, it’s imperative that the what you want to say,” says Jimi Hendrix root cause of this ghastly practice be a rock music star. addressed. Without tackling the underly- The proliferation of pornographic ing causes, it will be akin to treating the magazines and literature that are readily symptom instead of the disease. available on the streets also contrib- The increasing portrayal by the ute to drive sexual passions especially media of women as objects for sexual among the youth. gratification plays an increasing role The modern day dressing habits in inflaming sexual obsession in the mainly by my fellow ladies, in the name society. of fashion are also contributing to the Prime television is characterized degradation of morals in the Kenyan by scenes adoring and gratifying sex. society. Advertising always feature women, often Some are specifically designed to scantily dressed in sexually alluring stimulate and attract opposite sex. attires even on products, which are not Though women activists for long have related to the items. defended this mode of dressing, the Soap operas have transformed sex undeniable fact is that their attires are from an aspect once confined to the negatively affecting men. When given an four corners of the bedroom to the opportunity, the “human dogs” believing glare of the public. It has now become that they will get away with the crime, acceptable in many homes for children easily pounce on their prey. to view explicit sex scenes on TV with Muungano News Muungano News 10 Sport August/September 2010. August/September 2010. Sport 11

Koffi Annan peace Mukuru roars in tournament gets underway Malaysia athletic championship

By Vincent Musau By Martin Mutie

On Saturday 24th June 2010 in Hu- Mukuru Athletics club thrilled the ruma sports ground is where many crowd with their talent at the just conclud- teams from within and others from far ed Asian international Athletic champion- gathered with their fans not left behind ship in Malasia. The club technician Dan Mukonyi to make the tournament a colorful one. was very pleased with Francis Muchiri aka The game was flamed into two Mukuru Express. Speaking at the airport groups i.e the men and the women’s he thanked St Marys Catholic church lead- side. where all teams were required to ership and parish priest Fr. Simon Kinyua register to the officials of the tourna- for the continued support towards nurtur- ment and the game was on knockout ing youth talents in Mukuru. bases. Presently the team is practicing The games were to be played in along north airport road to Mulolongo interconstituency level where only one as groundwork for the forthcoming team was needed inorder to face with Ndakaini half marathon in September. The team Coach Mr Francis Muchiri the other teams from the all 8 constitu- said they are also hoping to send individ- encies on 14th August in the finals and ual athletes to the 2012 Olympic Games walk away with ksh. 5000,000. to be held in London. “I welcome new In Huruma the teams representing members and well wishers to support us in are Sofapaka in the womens’ category our athletes initiative,’ says Francis. and Huruma youth who opted to The other members in the high at- emerge the winners of the grand finals. titude training camp include;Peter Maina Acoording to their coach Milton the captain, Francis Muchiri aka Mukuru Obote hehopes to win the trophy since express who also doubles up as the coach, he has the best players.The team has Margret Mutio kyalo, Onesmus Kilonzo, Paul Makau, Francis Kyalo, Cyrus Kisairu, been playing in the KPL and are ex- Eunice Ghayanzi, Dan Mukonyi, Victoria pected to join the the Nation wide this Chepkoech, Dancan Ngang and John season. Koffi Annan. Bosco Mbithi Drunken referee spoils the match

motion and misunderstanding in the By Onesmus Kilonzo game then the referee blew the final whistle in the 80th minute and ended the game creating tensions from the specta- Dream team F.C drew 1-1 with Roto F.C. tors. Striker Michael Otieno aka Ade opened In a separate match, the Dream team the score line by converting a superb pass F.C central attacking midfielder Muindi from Jomo Kenneth the right winger of suffered a broken ankle during the dream team in the 30th minute first half Kofi Annan cup held at Maringo sports of the game. Before the end of first half ground on July 24th when they thrashed in the 41 minute, Roto FC striker Daudi Amusha F.C 3-0. According to the team Maktal was fouled in the penalty area and specialist Fabian Omari, the player might a well taken penalty kick earned him the be out for three months. first goal of the Mukuru league. Speaking after the match Dream team Dream team who were playing away captain accused the referee of giving game at Roto’s stadium dominated the unnecessary yellow card to their central second half but the Roto’s goalkeeper defend that caused the penalty kick for blocked two wonderful attempts by Roto FC. He also complained the referee Maurice Otieno and a header from Jomo was officiating the match was drunk. The Kenneth. However in the 75th minute Dream team has dominated Mukuru Maurice Otieno was fouled but referee league for two consecutive seasons. never awarded the penalty causing com- Muungano News Muungano News 10 Sport August/September 2010. August/September 2010. Sport 11

Kenya street soccer team in homeless World Cup

By Vincent Musau

The street soccer team trains hard preparing for homeless world cup which will be hosted in Brazil come September this year. According to their head coach Alex Mwangi, “the team was selected in a Nai- robi street soccer tournament where play- ers from different teams were selected”. “Players were selected from all 8 zones for fair distribution”. He added. The team is expected to travel together with their coach plus two selected team officials in September. Kenya has participated in this tourna- ment for the last 4 years save for last year’s event that took place in Italy. According to the president of Africa Street Soccer who is also an official in the Kenyan team Mohammed Ahmed, this years’ teams are fit to play since they have had enough time to practise and perfect on the rules which governs the game since it is different from the regu- lar 11 aside. along which needs some skills more than A street soccer game in Nairobi. “This is a game of 4 aside with a the basic skills and more power in order smaller pitch and has a perimeter wall to make it,” explains Alex Mwangi. Hu-Tang FC is the champion of win a goat football tournament and challenged it to ensure that such titude among us, especially with the way By Ibrahim Mohammed kind of tournament is organized regu- we perceive other young people from larly. other ethnic communities,” says Don. Hu-Tang FC (from Ngomongo in “Through this tournament, we are “Most of the youth in Korogocho Korogocho) beats Al-Shabab FC from now able to venture into the so called lack role models that they can look up Highridge in Korogocho 5-3 in penalty ‘no go zones’ avoided by adults because to, it was an innovative idea to invite shoot outs to take home a live goat in of wrong attitudes held about each some of the alumni of Korogocho who the month of August at St. Johns’ Catho- other. There shall also be a change in at- are successful to talk to the youth, and lic Church grounds. to act as their mentors,” said Fr. John The tournament which attracted 34 Weboosta, a priest at St. Johns Catholic football teams from Korogocho, Baba Church – Korogocho. Dogo and Kariobangi was one of its Aggrey Willis Otieno, a student kind. at Ohio University, USA who was one “We were heading to referendum of the supporters of the event, while polls and since several slums had been presenting the goat to the winning team ear marked by the Government as hot encouraged youths to embrace peace spots, it was incumbent upon Brother- and unity. hood community based organization to “No one amongst us here applied mobilise the youth and talk about peace. where to be born. None asked God to There was no better way to do this than ensure that he/she is born amongst through soccer,” explains James Wain- a certain ethnic group. We all had an aina aka Uncle, the Coordinator of equal chance of being from any given Brotherhood. tribe in Kenya. We should therefore live Don, the team manager of Hu-Tang harmoniously as brothers and sisters,” FC was grateful to Brotherhood group said Aggrey. Muungano News Muungano News 12 Local News August/September 2010. August/September 2010. LOCAL NEWS 3 Mukuru Greenfields Housing Project gets underway

By Martin Mutie

Muungano Wa Mukuru /Sisal settlement saving scheme are planning to embark on an ambitious slum upgrading project that shall benefit over 2 200 households. As the country was approaching towards the 2007/2008 general election, there were fears of eviction in all the slums in Kenya and mostly Mukuru slums. There were stories that when the election is over the owners of the land will reclaim back their land. In the mid 2007 things started getting hot as the election date was fast approach- ing; residents of Mukuru started reflecting on how they can claim the land they are currently squatting on. With the help of Muungano wa wanavi- jiji which was already working with self help groups along the railway line came to their rescue and organized residents of Mukuru sisal zone to start savings. Muungano held seminars to educate the members on how to operate and manage the saving group. Savings commenced with six members who contributed as little as 20/= daily. This gave birth to Sisal settlement saving scheme self help group with the aim of purchasing the land in the area they currently inhabited. Enumerations to establish the num- Hon. Ferdinand Waititu (in a suit turning his back to the camera) and ber of structures and people living in sisal Councillor Ken Ng’ondi’s visit to Kambi Moto to view Muungano zone was initiated in September 2007 and brought a lot of enlightenment to projects in Huruma slums the people of Mukuru sisal zone. More members continued joining the scheme had an outstanding debt of 100 million with requested Eco-Bank limited who were ready and the number was growing day by day Eco-Bank limited. to give a loan of Ksh 55 million with a condi- but not all were pleased with the ongoing The negotiation of the land was then to tion that the settlement scheme open an prosperity of sisal settlement saving scheme, start afresh with Eco-Bank Ltd which further account with them and deposit the group’s in response the leaders were reported to lowered the price to 81 million in March Ksh 26 million and Akiba Mashinani Trust the local administration and charged to 2009. (AMT), the group’s sponsors deposited Ksh be land grabbers. The leaders spend two Sisal settlement saving scheme, had 24 million. nights behind the bars leading to Pamoja collected Ksh 35 million from its mem- In December 2009 the sale agreement trust intervention and the enumeration was bers. But not enough to purchase the land was signed between Mr. Patel and AMT Mu- stopped prematurely. so they had to look for loans to able to ungano wa Mukuru. The saving scheme has Mzee Njenga one of the first individuals complete the purchase. No bank was ready gone through a lot of hardship on 12 Febru- to settle in Mukuru came to the aid of Mu- to give loan of more than one million to ary 2010 the area M.P Hon. Ferdinand ungano and brought the good news that has slum dwellers. The group leaders therefore Waititu and the area councillor Mr. Ken gone down to the history of Muungano in Ngondi invaded sisal settlement scheme of- Kenya, one of Mukuru neighbour Mr. Patel fices and took with them official documents was selling his 23 acres of land to any willing The leaders spend two and a laptop with crucial information about buyer, so he requested if we could be able nights behind the bars the proposed Greenfields. as a group to purchase the land. Which was They later addressed a public Baraza costing 161 million (7 million per acre). leading to Pamoja accusing the group of not involving them In fact this was a new venture and trust intervention and in the planning of the project; they also needed a lot of consultation from land alleged that the leaders of Muungano experts and well wishers, Mr. Patel lowered the enumeration was were collecting funds and using it for their the price after a length negotiation to 104 stopped prematurely. personal use. He also locked the office and million. However, it was found that the land took away the keys.

Muungano News is a publication of Muungano Habari Mashinani, the media arm of Muungano ya Wanavijiji. Email: [email protected]