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Residents of Sego slum neighbour President Uhuru Kenyatta’s State House and other affluent jiranis, never mind their lives are worlds apart.
The slum is tucked between State House Road and Jakaya Kikwete Road in Nairobi, where about 300 residents enjoy social services other slum dwellers can only dream of.
Initially, Sego was called Kilimani until early 2000 when it was renamed Sego, after a bar called Chego (milk) then owned by a Mr Kimaiyo — who relinquished ownership and Chego changed hands.
There is one other bar in Sego. Mzee Felix Gikandi, 70, has lived in Sego for over 40 years and recalls retired President Mwai Kibaki waving at them.
The rest of the jiranis are strangers with they have never had run-ins, except for the case of one operative of the defunct City Council who tried to have the slum flattened.
He met spirited resistance from the mzees family that came to Nairobi from Nyeri at the cusp of independence in the 1960s.
Mzee Gikandi and his five brothers own the three and half acres, which is a family inheritance bought from the whites in early 1960s — their initial home reportedly went up in flames in 1998 and they put up cheaper houses. They are planning to upgrade Sego though.
Sarah Nyambura, a resident, says that though interaction with their wealthy neighbours is almost nil, they never lack water and electricity which are in constant supply.
Sego residents fork out Sh5,000 per month for old school stone houses compared to over Sh100,000 per month for the well-heeled who live in the neighbouring Caledonia area.
Unlike other slums, security at Sego is so tight. “I can’t recall the last time we experienced case of thuggery or mugging while walking around,” says Nyambura. “We enjoy good protection and can walk to and from town even late at night without fear,” she said.
Sego sits on three and half acres and is famed for cheap food with a majority of customers being security officers at State House, employees working around Kilimani area, the city centre, Hurlingham and along Dennis Pritt Road.
Residents operate food kiosks while others work in the city, Their children attend State House Primary School, a public school, but because of the perception that they live next to State House, their needy kids don’t get bursaries.
No matatus ply the route. Walking is the preferred way of commuting to town, school and church. For recreation, Gikandi says residents pass time in area pubs or go to mung’etho (zubaa) around the city centre and Hurlingham.
