Kibera

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View of Kibera

Kibera in Nairobi, Kenya is the largest slum in Africa, and has a population estimated at one million[1]. The name "Kibera" is derived from kibra, a Nubian word meaning "forest" or "jungle." [2]

Contents

[edit] History

The slum originated in 1918 as a Nubian soldiers' settlement in a forest outside Nairobi, with plots allotted to soldiers as a reward for service in the First World War and earlier wars [3].

The British colonial government of the time allowed the settlement to grow informally, primarily because of the Nubians' status as former servants of the British crown that put the colonial regime in their debt. Furthermore the Nubians, being "Detribalized Natives" had no claim on Land in "Native Reserves". (Parson, Timothy (1997))

After Kenyan independence in 1963, however, various forms of housing were made illegal by the government, rendering Kibera unauthorised on the basis of land tenure. Essentially, since the early 1970s landlords have rented out their property to a significantly greater number of tenants than legality permits. Since the tenants, who are extremely poor, are unable to obtain or rent land that is "legal" according to the Kenyan government, the slum-dwellers find the rates offered to be comparatively affordable. The number of residents in Kibera has increased accordingly despite its unauthorised nature.

This process has been exacerbated because, over time, other tribes have moved into the area to rent land from the Nubian landlords. Since then, the Kikuyu have come to predominate the population and by 1974 had effectively gained control over administrative positions. This occurs primarily through political patronage, as certain owners are protected by local government officers largely based on their Kikuyu ethnicity, and changes in administrative personnel may have drastic impacts on a landlord's security. [4]

Kibera has residents coming from all the major ethnic backgrounds with some areas being specifically dominated by one tribe (eg. Kisumu Ndogo that is predominantly Luo). Many are coming from rural areas due to the problems of rural underdevelopment. This multi-ethnic nature coupled with the tribalism of Kenyan politics has led Kibera to be the site of small ethnic conflicts throughout its near 100 year history (most recently in 2002 in which many resident's homes were attacked by arson).

[edit] Slum upgrading

Kibera is one of the most studied slums in Africa, not only because it sits in the centre of the modern city, but also because UN-HABITAT, the United Nations' agency for human settlements, is headquartered close by. Ban Ki-moon visited the settlement within a month of his selection as UN secretary-general.[3]

Kibera, as one of the most pronounced slums within Kenya, is undergoing intensive Slum Upgrading process. The government, UN-HABITAT and a contingent of NGOs, notably Maji na Ufanisi, are making inroads into the settlements in an attempt to facelift the housing and sanitary conditions.

There are three significant complicating factors to construction or upgrade within Kibera. The first is the rate of petty and serious crime. Building materials cannot be left unattended at any time because there is very high chance of them being stolen. It is not uncommon for owners of storm-damaged dwellings to have to camp on top of the remnants of their homes until repairs can be made in order to protect the raw materials from would-be thieves.

The second is the lack of building foundations. The ground in much of Kibera is literally composed of refuse and rubbish. Dwellings are often constructed atop this unstable ground, and therefore many structures collapse whenever the slum experiences flooding, which it does regularly. This means that even well-constructed buildings are often damaged by the collapse of nearby poorly-constructed ones.

The third complicating factor is the unyielding topography and cramped sprawl of the area. Few houses have vehicle access and many are at the bottom of steep inclines (which heightens the flooding risk). This means that any construction efforts are made more difficult and costly by the fact that all materials must be brought in by hand.

[edit] Geography and culture

Kibera is located southwest of Nairobi city centre and is equal to about 75% of the area of Manhattan's Central Park (approximately 2.5 square kilometres, 256 hectares, or 630 acres). Nairobi Dam is to the south. It is sited approximately 5 km south west of the city centre of Nairobi. It holds more than a quarter of Nairobi's population. The estimated population density is 2000/hectare.[5] There are a number of villages, including Kianda, Soweto, Gatwekera, Kisumu Ndogo, Lindi, Laini Saba, Siranga/Undugu, Makina and Mashimoni[6]. Its population is put at anything between 600,000 and 1.2 million[3].

A railway line passes through Kibera, thus passengers heading for Kisumu can view the slum. Kibera has a railway station, but due to absence of effective commuter train system in Nairobi, most Kibera residents use buses and Matatus to reach city centre. However, riding the Matatus proves to be considerably dangerous, due to the occasional carjacking that goes on in Nairobi especially in the evenings and at the end of the month. Irresponsible driving in the area and poor traffic law enforcement also makes travel perilous.

Kibera is heavily polluted by soot, dust, and other wastes. Open sewage routes, in addition to the common use of Flying toilets, also contribute to contamination of the slum with human and animal faeces. The combination of poor nutrition and lack of sanitation accounts for many illnesses. Not only are death by disease and conflict common inside this slum, but it is estimated that 1/5 of the 2.2 million Kenyans living with HIV live in Kibera.

Kibera is home to the popular Olympic Primary School, one of the leading government schools in the country.

Kibera also has its own community radio, Pamoja FM.

[edit] References in popular culture

Screen shot from Kibera Kid, Nathan Collett's 2006 film.

Kibera is featured in Fernando Meirelles's film The Constant Gardener, which is based on the book of the same name by John le Carré. It is also mentioned in the music video World On Fire by Sarah McLachlan, which profiled the work of Carolina for Kibera, a grassroots organization named a Hero of Global Health in 2005 by Time Magazine.[7]

Robert Neuwirth devotes a chapter of his book Shadow Cities to Kibera and calls it a squatter community, predicting that places like Kibera, Sultanbeyli in Istanbul, Turkey, and Sanjay Gandhi in Mumbai, India, are the prototypes of the cities of tomorrow. Among other things Neuwirth points out that such cities should be reconsidered as merely slums, as many locals were drawn to them while escaping far worse conditions in rural areas. Michael Holman's 2005 novel Last Orders at Harrods is based in a fictional version of the slum, called Kireba. Bill Bryson visited Africa for CARE and wrote a companion book called "Bill Bryson's African Diary" which includes a description of his visit to Kibera. Kibera is also the backdrop for the award-winning short film Kibera Kid which featured a cast entirely drawn from Kibera residents. The film has played in film festivals worldwide including the Berlin Film Festival and won a Student Emmy from Hollywood. In his documentary Living with Corruption Sorious Samura stayed with a family in Kibera to film the corruption that occurs even at the lowest levels of Kenyan society. Furthermore, Kibera is portrayed in the Austrian 2007 documentary Über Wasser: Menschen und gelbe Kanister.

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes

  1. ^ Amnesty International- Video- The women of Kibera
  2. ^ Affordable Housing Institute blog
  3. ^ a b c "The Strange Allure of the Slums", The Economist, 5th May 2007.
  4. ^ The geography of Third World cities. ISBN 0-389-20671-7. (Lowder, Stella)
  5. ^ [1]
  6. ^ Map at Caroline for Kibera
  7. ^ Yunus Ndeti - A Brief History of Kibera, 2003 [2]

[edit] External links

 This article's external links may not follow Wikipedia's content policies or guidelines. Please improve this article by removing excessive or inappropriate external links. (January 2009)
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Nairobi

Huruma · Mathare · Ngara · Dandora · Embakasi · Kariobangi · Karen · Kibera · Langata · Eastleigh · Highridge · Lavington · Parklands Divisions
Central · Dagoretti · Embakasi · Kasarani · Kibera · Makadara · Pumwani · Westlands

Coordinates: 1°19′S 36°47′E / 1.317°S 36.783°E / -1.317; 36.783

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