Ferdinand Mwongela

Richard Munishi sits besides a towering block of flats at the new Kibera flats selling wares that he has laid out on several cartons and a table. As we sit next to him, droplets of water hit us from above. In the hot sun, I know that cannot be rain so I start to pray fervently that it is not wastewater.

Welcome to the new look Kibera courtesy of the Government-initiated slum-upgrading project.

The new blocks are for some temporary shelter from where they will wait for what used to be their homes to be demolished and new flats constructed. This exercise is expected to go on for several years until Kenya’s (and Africa’s) largest ‘premier’ slum (and a tourism attraction to boot) is no more.

Housing Minister Soita Shitanda lauds the project as a success and the residents agree. The 17 blocks comprise over 600 two-bedroom units. This is the first phase of the slum upgrading project and it cost over Sh500 million to complete.

Tenants pay a monthly rent of Sh1,000 of which Sh300 goes towards settling electricity bills and Sh200 for water.

Although the flats are designed as two bedroom units, the reality inside the houses is different. Save for the kitchen, bathroom and toilet which are shared, each room has been marked with a number (1, 2 and 3) to allow three different families to occupy the two bedrooms and the sitting room. It is, therefore, up to individual families to design their rooms and divide them into living and sleeping quarters.

A view of Kibera. The slum upgrading project is set to revolutionise the lifestyles of the residents. Photos: Martin Mukangu/Standard

Although this may look and feel like a tight squeeze, it is an upgrade from the flimsy walls, flying and communal toilets shared by whole villages in the slum.

Inside the apartment blocks, the doors are better and residents no longer fear their houses will be easily broken into. The main door opens to reveal a short corridor that leads to the inner part of the house. It also separates the bedrooms all of which have wooden doors with secure locks thus providing security and privacy to individual families.

Each room is the same size and can comfortably accommodate a 4x6ft bed, a set of seats, a table and a small cabinet. At the end of the short corridor is a toilet and bathroom. The kitchen is to the right. It eliminates the need to cook in the rooms thus leaving space for other items.

The residents appreciate the size of the units but most specially, the exclusive use of the toilets and bathrooms. For the residents, the laws are firm when it comes to sub-letting — it is not permitted.

"If you have a big family, you can apply for more rooms. However, if you can afford it hen one is free to take up the whole flat," explains John Rajuai, a resident.

To accommodate his family of four, Rajuai chose to take one complete two-bedroom unit for the exclusive use of his family. He now has a sitting room, his own bedroom while the other bedroom is for his sons. Moving around his house, it is evident that Rajuai is a man proud of his new environment.

Richard Munishi, a small-scale businessman, sells wares outside one of the apartment blocks. Shops are yet to be completed and allocated to entrepreneurs.

"I can now welcome visitors without being ashamed of where I live," he enthuses. "Before we moved here, I used to find visitors a bit cumbersome because we didn’t have proper toilets in case they needed one."

Since moving to the new flats, Munishi, a small-scale businessman formely based at Kibera’s Soweto East village (estimated to have over 60,000 inhabitants), says his dreams have come true after many months of waiting. At some point, he had lost hope of ever shifting into the flats.

"Maisha sasa ni mazuri (life is now good)," he says.

improved lifestyles

The flats look strikingly similar to those in Umoja or Pipeline estates in Nairobi where highrise blocks rule. They stand above the low brown roofs of the shanties that cover the area. Admittedly, they are not very tall by Nairobi standards but they are the tallest (and cleanest) structures around Kibera standing at five floors high.

A closer look reveals that people are still settling down in their new environment. Outside, water flows from a tap. A few feet away dustbins are placed strategically by the stairs for use by the residents. This is seen as an improvement on the lifestyles of the Kibera residents. For most of the people who shifted from the slums into the concrete blocks, life has settled somewhat and established a rhythm of its own. At first, acclimatising to the new conditions was a great challenge but with time, the residents devised their own solutions and gradually grew accustomed to their new lifestyle.

While families continue to adjust, school children now have to walk all the way to their former schools. The lucky ones have been transferred to nearby schools.

Interestingly, life in the new Kibera flats is nostalgically similar to that in the slums. For small businessmen and women like Munishi, the prospect of owning their own shop once the mini-shopping complex is complete is exciting.

Most of the shops are complete but are yet to be allocated. Of major concern is the realisation that the number of shops available may not be adequate to accommodate all the willing entrepreneurs. For now, they have to make do with small alcoves and corners found within the estate.

Crime rate in the new complexes has reduced, thanks to a security vigilante team set up and made up of the residents. Proof of this hit us when we arrived at Rajuai’s house and two young men came to check who we were. After confirming we were guests of Rajuai, they left. Everyone here knows everyone else and strangers stand out like sore thumbs.

"We decided to make our own security arrangements to guarantee our safety," reveals Rajuai, who is also in the security committee.

"Some residents man the gate at night while others patrol the complex. We also work closely with the provincial administration."

Although there are still fears of outsiders benefiting from the project at the expense of genuine Kibera residents, Rajuai is confident this will not happen.

"We know each other so we would be able to determine those who are not from the villages," he says. "We are very transparent here."

When complete, the Kibera upgrading project will benefit more than 1,500 families living in the slum. Prime Minister Raila Odinga, who is also the area MP, says the slum upgrading is a pilot project, which will be duplicated countrywide in a 15-year plan aimed at providing quality housing to slum dwellers.

"This is an initial step towards the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals," he said when he flagged off the move last month.