Government faulted over rising deaths of city street children

A disturbing rise in deaths among street children and youth is now raising questions about the city’s urban development policies, housing initiatives and State accountability.

“We express grave concern over the unexplained deaths of at least 15 street-connected youth and children in the past month and the complete absence of accountability from government agencies,” Eric Mukoya, the executive director of Undugu Society of Kenya, an organisation that has worked with street-connected communities for decades, said.

Undugu Society expressed concern over what it described as “discrete deaths” of street-connected children and youth and criticised government responses as cosmetic.

While acknowledging state efforts to waive hospital, mortuary and burial costs, Mukoya said such measures fail to address the root causes of homelessness and vulnerability.

A deadly mix of poor planning, grinding poverty and a harsh economy has pushed hundreds of families onto Nairobi’s streets.

Street-connected communities live in extreme conditions marked by fear, hunger and harassment.

Many lack legal identification, locking them out of essential services such as healthcare, education and social protection. Without IDs, accessing government platforms like eCitizen or affordable housing programmes becomes impossible.

“These deaths illustrate the harsh realities of street life and the failure of State agencies to fulfil their mandate to protect children,” Mukoya said, adding: “Waiving fees after death is not justice.”

Undugu Society is now demanding a raft of urgent actions.

Top of the list is a comprehensive, transparent investigation into the recent deaths, with findings made public.

The organisation is also calling for targeted programmes to provide legal identification, birth certificates and national IDs to street-connected individuals.  Denial of identity fuels discrimination and violates constitutional rights.

It is also demanding guarantees of personal security under Article 29 of the Constitution and accountability from national and county agencies tasked with addressing homelessness.

Mukoya said petty and street-related offences have become entry points for abuse by law enforcement, calling for reforms to decriminalise survival behaviour associated with poverty.

In the past month alone, at least 15 street-connected children and youth have died in different parts of the capital, according to civil society groups.

Their deaths, linked to pneumonia, starvation, exposure to cold, mob justice and drowning, have sparked outrage among human rights defenders, who say the silence from authorities is as troubling as the deaths themselves.