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| Picture courtesy of citizen tv kenya: Otieno the caveman |
Just
before he was evicted in the place he called home, Otieno was living in the
middle of Ngong forest in the outskirts of Nairobi in a cave- yes you had it
right, a cave. According to Otieno, who used to live in the sprawling slums of Kibera,
he could not afford the rent demanded by his landlord and therefore to avoid
conflicts he decided to vacate the house and look and look for an alternative.
As some of you may know, Kibera is a slum where one can secure a single
semi-permanent house (mud-walled, wooden, or corrugated iron sheets) with
electricity (illegally connected) for as little as five hundred shillings which
translates to roughly $5 using the current exchange rates. But this still was
too much for him to afford considering that he lacked neither a permanent
source of income nor the necessary basic skills to secure him a job. So with
his little possessions, Otieno packed his bags and started walking to a
destination he didn’t know where he ended up at Ngong forest where he lived
with beast and snakes but at least he had a roof or rather a cave over his head
and his worries would then be reduced to getting something for his stomach.
While
there could be so many other “Otieno’s” out there who probably are in a worse
situation, the kind of deplorable life such people are forced to live in is an
indictment to the government and a shame to the entire nation.
Mahtma
Gandhi once said that the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be
judged by the way its animals are treated. While this was said in reference to
animal rights back in the days; the same saying can even be more resounding
when referring to humanity in general. A country that abandons its weakest men
and women is as strong as the weakest member of that society and it should be
judged as such.
Chapter
four of the Kenyan constitution under the bill of rights clearly stipulates the
rights of every citizen. Article 43 sub-article 1(b), states that “every person
has the right to accessible and adequate housing, and to a reasonable standard
of sanitation.” The government of Kenya under the Ministry of Housing in its
attempts to adhere to this statute and in line with the millennium development
goals, partnered with the UN-HABITAT, civil society, the private sector and the
participating communities in what was known as the “Slum Upgrading Program” (KENSUP.)
The aim of KENSUP was to develop low cost housing for slum dwellers and Kibera slum
where Otieno used to reside was to become the first beneficiaries. The project
was later on mired in deep controversy when the beneficiaries turned out to be
the rich folks who could afford the rent. This comes in the wake of the
statistics from UN-HABITAT painting a grim picture about the status of our
slums. According to a report by the UN-HABITAT, Kenya’s slums are growing at an
unprecedented rate with the urban population standing at 40% of the total
population. 70% of the urbanites are said to live in slums with limited access
to water and sanitation, housing and secure tenure (UN-HABITA, 2008.)
While
all this is happening, the Kenya’s tenth parliament passed a bill on the last day
of its session that would see each one of them take away a hefty pay package.
The outrageous bill which is still awaiting the president’s signature to make
it legal, will award each MP nearly $110,000 in bonus, an armed guard, a
diplomatic passport and access to the VIP lounge at Kenyan airports (Associated
Press.) If the president ascends to this bill(which many fear he might
considering the enticing perks for him, the prime minster and the vice
president), it would mean that the Kenyan tax payer will have to work extra
hard and dig a little dipper again into his pockets in order to sustain this
lavish lifestyles. It also means that people like Otieno will have to wait a
little longer (if they have the time) to attain their dreams and rights which
are enshrined in the constitution as the wage bill continues to balloon beyond
control.
