Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya   

Rosemary Mungai, Village Chairwoman, Mukuru: When coronavirus came, we experienced so many problems because there was just no money.  

Esther Arumba, Laundry Worker, Mukuru: Because of the nature of my job, I couldn’t get any work. I would just boil water and go to sleep with the kids.  

Strict Covid-19 lockdowns have hit especially hard for people in Nairobi’s informal settlements. Without a social security system to help them when they can’t work, people face starvation and eviction.   

Rosemary Mungai, Village Chairwoman, Mukuru: As you know there are no jobs at the moment, so I live with seven of my grandchildren.  And I’m the one fending for them. (Speaking to potential customer) I’m selling soap for Kshs. 20 (.18 USD).   

Uhuru Kenyatta, Kenyan President (Courtesy of KTN NEWS ): There are many Kenyans who have been stripped of their dignity, who cannot feed their families or pay their rent and many of these Kenyans find themselves in very vulnerable and difficult situations. Every single week my administration has been dispatching 250 million shillings to vulnerable families.   

The Kenyan president pledged to send cash to the people hardest hit by Covid-19 restrictions, but the money only reached about five percent of those who needed it in Nairobi.   

 Esther Arumba, Laundry Worker, Mukuru: I didn’t get the cash.  

Instead of distributing the cash to people in dire need, many government officials registered their own family and friends. And today, millions of people are still desperate for support.  

Rosemary Mungai, Village Chairwoman, Mukuru: There should be transparency. They should stop embezzling funds meant for the underprivileged. They should continue the program and increase the number of people. We can identify those of us in dire need within our communities.   

Esther Arumba, Laundry Worker, Mukuru: The government should be transparent and extend the program. 

The Kenyan government should follow through on its promise ensure that the cash reaches those who need it the most.   

All Kenyans have a right to a decent standard of living.  

Rosemary Mungai, Village Chairwoman, Mukuru: We are asking the government to take care of its citizens. 

The Kenyan government carried out forced evictions from Mau forest in late 2019. This was the second phase of such evictions.

The process of removing people and destroying homes, which began in mid 2018, is part of an effort to conserve the Mau ecosystem.

Paul Malel, Mau Forest Evictee

I was evicted from Mau. I had lived there for about 20 years. They came there on October 10th [2019] and asked us to remove our things. On the second day they came very early in the morning and started demolishing shops.

Since 2018, more than 50,000 people have been evicted from their homes in the forest.  Police are deployed to prevent people returning to the forest.

Janet Langat, Mau Forest Evictee

You can’t go there in the day, as the police are still there, if they get you, you will be beaten, or they would take the maize.

Peter Koech, Mau Forest Evictee

My child was traumatised and went into a depression. She was greatly affected when she heard the gunshots, and saw our home being razed down.

The security forces used excessive force to remove people from their homes. They killed and injured people, destroyed property.

The evictees are now living in temporary camps outside the forest.

They receive no assistance, surviving on whatever odd jobs they can do to pay for food.

 

Paul Malel, Mau Forest Evictee

I now live at Saptet Camp, Sagamian. We now live here without any assistance; without farms.

Movement restrictions in response to Covid-19 have made life and basic food security almost impossible in the camps.

The Kenyan government should relocate evictees to a suitable location, adequately compensate them,  and investigate security forces abuses during the evictions.