A sombre mood gripped members of the street families in Nairobi as they buried nine of their own at Langata cemetery last week.
They contributed money to buy caskets before burying the dead in a mass grave to cut down on costs they are ill-equipped to meet. Nothing points to their neglect by the government more than their sacrifice.
The government, in its usual reactionary manner, took note only after media exposure and public outrage, and promised to conduct investigations. Gender, Culture and Children Services Cabinet Secretary Hannah Cheptumo said the government was unaware of their hospitalisation, sickness, cause of death and the burial.
However, according to the Undugu Society that works with street families, autopsies conducted on the bodies showed they died from pneumonia, starvation, and bodily injuries, perhaps from attacks by criminals or fights for space. They live in a violent world where only the strongest survive. It's not a secret that these families are exposed to the elements, sleeping out in the open without warm clothes and blankets to protect them against the cold.
Many sleep hungry whenever their begging missions fail, which raises questions; where is the government? Why has it failed to take care of the disadvantaged in society, including the mentally challenged who should be kept in hospitals to receive necessary help but are left to roam the streets? In many towns, mentally challenged women carry babies they cannot fend for after being taken advantage of.
Successive governments have pledged to take vulnerable families and children off the streets to children homes and rehabilitation centres where they stand a chance to become useful members of society, but often, that is just talk that never goes beyond the paper stage.
Society is judged by how it treats its most vulnerable people. On this score, the government of Kenya ranks poorly. However, it is not too late to rescue street families, give them a sense of belonging and restore their dignity. They are as much Kenyan as those who steal Sh2 billion daily from public coffers.
