Government moves to stem slum violence

The Kenyan government announced last week it is hoping to put an end to a feud between tenants and landlords in Nairobi's largest slum by regulating their relationship for the first time, Kenyan news agencies reported. Following five days of violence in Kibera, Nairobi's largest slum area, assistant minister in the Office of the President, William Ruto, told parliament on Thursday 29 November the government could institute an arrangement where property owners are issued with title deeds, while tenants are able to benefit from rent reductions, the Daily Nation newspaper reported. One person died and at least 20 were seriously injured in violence sparked by a visit by Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi to Kibera on 31 October. Moi had directed the Nairobi provincial administration to persuade Kibera landlords to cut their rents, and also to investigate claims of land-grabbing against many landlords. According to one resident, some of Kibera's estimated 700,000 inhabitants "took the president at his word" and vowed to halt rent payments until new guidelines were issued by Nairobi Provincial Commissioner (PC) Cyrus Maina. Landlords, however, have refused to cede to their tenants' demands. According to Ruto, however, many tenants had misunderstood Moi's comments, adding that the government would not "succumb to demands by some tenants that the rents be reduced according to their wishes." Following Moi's visit to Kibera, the Nairobi PC had met with Kibera's landlords since 31 October, and agreed on how to reduce the rents, Ruto said. It is unclear who owns the land on which Kibera's ramshackle structures are built. Although the Kenyan government has ultimate control over the land, many accuse the current landlords of appropriating the land illegally, and that their rental charges are therefore illegitimate. “Some of our unscrupulous landlords grabbed land and are now charging sky-high rents,” one tenant told IRIN on Thursday 29 November. Tenants in Kibera, Nairobi's largest slum area, are charged between Ksh 200 (US $3) to Ksh 10,000 (US $150) per month to live in rudimentary structures of earth or iron sheeting. “We are paying through the nose for hovels that are unfit for human beings,” the tenant told IRIN. When Maina, head of the provincial administration in the area, and Provincial Police Officer (PPO) Geoffrey Muathe called a meeting (baraza) in Kibera on Wednesday 28 November to resolve the dispute, the gathered crowd attacked the two men by throwing stones at them. Armed police, who had been deployed in the slum since early morning reacted by firing teargas canisters into the crowd, and arresting some 100 demonstrators, who were then driven away under tight security, the Daily Nation said. “The violence was unfortunate and the work of a few hecklers, a few drunkards who are opposed to resolving the rents issue,” Maina, who escaped the attack unharmed, was quoted as saying by the newspaper. Kenyan police have been heavily criticised for their handling of the violence. Armed policemen have allegedly raided homes and shops, stealing money and property, and police violence had caused many residents to flee their houses in the early hours of Thursday 29 November in fear of further attacks, the Kenya Television Network reported. A number of programmes have been set up to ameliorate the life in the slum areas. One such initiative is the Collaborative Slum Upgrading Initiative, a joint effort by the Kenyan government and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat), which began in June this year, and helps to promote secure land tenure for the growing population of Kibera and the Kenyan capital's other slum areas in Korogocho, Mathare and Mukuru.