Kibera is a corrupted Nubian word which means forest or Jungle. Kibera was a dense forest before the british government tuned it into a military camp for Nubian soldiers who originated from Sudan and fought First World War.
In 1918, Kibra was gazetted as a military reserve and Nubian soldiers issued with shamba passes. These were temporary land licenses for plots of land where they settled wit their families.
The ‘Three Soldiers Satue’ on Kenyatta Avenue represent those brave Nubian soldiers.
The writing on the statue is Arabic as military units back then used to be identified by classified Arabic numbers.
The word Afande is Nubian word meaning Sir while Line Saba in Kibera was Line Shanbaha.
