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28 | Slum Profiles | Central Division

SLUM PROFILES

Nairobi Inventory | 29

NGARA KARIOKOR

STAREHE

MATHARE

HURUMA

SLUM PROFILES


Eviction threats from self-proclaimed landlords and rich people and mysterious night fires were commonly experienced before the year 2000. The residents in 1999 sought assistance from Kituo Cha Sheria and got a letter restraining the landlords from carrying out the intended evic-tions. Residents still live in fear of eviction un-less the government formally confers security of tenure on them.

The settlement’s population is estimated at about 10 000 people occupying about 600 households

There are about 600 structures with 3000 10 by 10 sq. feet rooms. Iron sheets, timber and plywood constitute common construction mate-rials and structure owners are estimated to con-stitute 40% of the resident population. Tenants pay Kshs 500 per room per month.

• Residents access piped water supply at a fee of Kshs 2 per 20-litre container from 6 privately owned metered water points within the settle-ment


• The sewer system got blocked and lacks main-tenance. Open surface run-off from toilets wors-ens the health risks in the settlement.

• 2 City Council toilets serve the residents at a fee of 3 shillings per use despite the poor state of maintenance and some residents resort to ‘flying toilets’, especially at night.

• Residents maintain narrow open drainage channels for liquid waste disposal into Mathare River but the risk of flooding is high especially during heavy rains

• No common waste disposal site, and Mathare River receives most of the domestic wastes from the settlement.

• Electricity supply lacking.

• Agip Post Offices serve as the main public com-munication facility, but there are no resource centres nearby.

• Road access is mainly by Juja Road but due to high population and lack of a layout plan, inter-nal accessibility is poor, most of the paths hav-ing been taken over by residential structures.

• Children attend Kiboro Primary school, the only nearby formal school, and congestion at the facility poses real challenges to the learning process. St James and Valley Primary schools, privately managed, offer alternative opportuni-ties at a fee of Kshs 400 per pupil per month. Others seek admission to government schools.

• Undugu Society, located nearby, offers voca-tional training opportunities especially for the youth.

• Private clinics are relied on by the residents to provide common health-care needs, while some seek outpatient services for common ailments (malaria and typhoid) from Mathare Dispensa-ry.

Majority of the residents are self employed in the informal sector, casual labor and trade in household consumables feature prominently amongst the male and female residents respec-tively with incomes ranging from Kshs. 150 to 350 per day. Unemployment, idling and sub-stance abuse amongst the youth remains a mat-ter of critical concern to the residents.

Most of the workforce in this settlement pro-vides manual labour on the coffee farms. There are a few others who are domestic workers and gardeners in the nearby estates of Runda and Evergreen. A very small number are in full-time employment.

There are a few goats and chickens being reared in this settlement. Almost every household is in-volved in keeping either goats or chickens. Resi-dents are however not allowed to graze in the open area near the settlement.

Village elders form part of the administrative machinery in the settlements linking the resi-dents with the local Provincial Administration of-fice. Community policing and security arrange-ments are operational.

Resource mobilization and savings schemes are organized around self-help groups in the settle-ment.

The residents have not been supported by NGOs, except Pamoja Trust through Muungano Wa Wa-navijiji working to strengthen saving schemes, and The Jesus Is Alive Ministry that offers OVC sponsorship and food to the poor.

They have also not benefited from the devolved government funds.


Eviction threats have been common from un-known people claiming ownership of the land and mysterious fires burning down the struc-tures, which they have persistently put up with for lack of where to go. The last eviction attempt came in the year 2004.

The land area is estimated to be about 20 acres, owned by NCC, and the residents believe it was meant for construction of another phase of the residential Ngei Estate.

The resident population is estimated at about 17000 occupying about 3000 households with 60% being adult.

There are about 1000 structures with an average of three residential rooms. Common construc-tion materials are timber, iron sheets and mud. The structure owners live within the settlement and constitute about 15% of the resident popu-lation.


• Three piped water supply points, privately managed and selling at Kshs 2 per 20-litre con-tainer, serve the residents’ water needs but seen against the resident population, congestion at water points is a common phenomenon and a long time is taken to access.

• Sanitation is poor as there are neither sewer systems nor toilets and ‘flying toilets’ are com-monly used.

• Narrow open drainage channels maintained by the residents exist but cannot adequately control flooding whenever it rains, and stagnant pools of domestic liquid wastes pose health risks.

• Garbage disposal system is poor, and solid wastes are strewn on open space though some garbage collectors occasionally come to remove the garbage.

• No electricity supply connection though KPLC supply line passes nearby.

• Road access to the settlement is limited by encroachment of structures narrowing and even blocking the pathways.

• Children attend the highly congested Huruma Primary School within walking distance from the settlement. The school has room for expansion to accommodate more pupils.

• Health care services are accessed at Huruma, Mathare and Kariobangi Health Centres for com-mon out-patient ailments.

Under/unemployment is a common problem amongst the youth and blamed for high crime rates in the area.

Self-employment in small-scale trade in house-hold consumables and casual labour are com-mon sources of income that range from Kshs 100 to 300 a day depending on the job, but still not regular.

The residents are organized to handle security concerns under the Community Policing Strat-egy coordinated by village elders and the area chief. They are aware of the CDF but have not directly benefited from the fund and have no CBOs/NGOs working with the community.


The land area is estimated to be 10 acres, prop-erty of NCC intended for residential housing de-velopment.

The resident population is estimated at about 12 000 people with an average of 4 per people per household and about 75% of population be-ing adult.

There are slightly over 400 structures and 5000 rooms measuring 10 by 10 sq. feet, mainly resi-dential, with some converted to commercial use. Commonly used building materials are second-hand iron sheets and timber. The majority of the residents are rent-paying tenants


• Most of the structure owners have connected (about 300 water points) piped water supplies to their plots and tenants use at a cost of Kshs. 2 per 20-litre container.

• The sewer lines developed under the site and service programme became blocked and no maintenance service has been undertaken.

• Toilets are constructed per plot and maintained by the landlords.

• Open drainage channels exist but are poorly maintained. Stagnant pools of domestic liquid wastes are common, with consequent risks as to vector-borne diseases and discomfort from floods whenever it rains.

• Garbage collectors help clear the solid wastes from the dumping site.

• No electricity connection.

• Poor road access due to uncontrolled structure construction.

• Planned social spaces are not yet developed but residents recognize their intended use.

• Children attend Huruma Primary School run by the NCC Education Department, but it needs to be considered for expansion to ease congestion in the classrooms.

• Health-care services are accessed at Huruma, Mathare and Kariobangi Health Centres for com-mon out-patient ailments.

Most of the residents fend for a living in the informal sector especially as casual labourers, petty trade and provision of household servic-es.

Incomes are low and irregular depending on the kind of job and opportunities, but estimates range from 100 to 250 in a day.

There’s a settlement committee mainly consti-tuted by the village elders that oversee security and social concerns but residents are also free to reach out to the local Provincial Administra-tion.

There are no CBOs/NGOs working in the com-munity but residents have benefited from CDF support.


By 1978 the population in this area had in-creased and the people decided to construct low-cost houses to live in. By 1986 the new busi-ness and residential village had a population of over 600 people. On December 20th 1995 a fierce fire swept almost all the houses causing a lot of problems for the residents. However, as a result more residential houses were built in the area. Subsequently there were two other serious fires in 1997 and 1999, hence the name Kambi Moto (Place of Fire).

The urban plan of Kambi Moto makes provision for 270 units of housing. Out of this number 62 houses have already been built and occupied in two phases. A third phase of 30 units is planned to commence before the end of 2008.

Through this development one can now see the communities dream house built in stone and mortar. In recognition of the fact that the in-dividual households have different strengths in saving, the houses have been built to various stages of final completion. This means that for those with little savings, ground-floor units have been built, whilst for those with more savings ground-floor plus one units have been provided and in some cases ground-floor plus two stories have been completed.

All of these houses can eventually be extended to the full size, as people save more and can add on another floor level. All of the foundations and technical means are prepared in such a way that they can cater to ground plus two-floor houses.


The urban density in Kambi Moto is quite high, due to the limited land available and the com-munity’s decision not to turn away anyone of the present residents. Practically this means that the community can remain together as a whole. This is important, as it enables social continuity and allows the community to build on existing social networks and support systems.

From an urban design point of view, this high-density development is a successful experience. House footprints of no more then approx. 4.5 x 4.5 meters, internal street widths of 3 meters, and some footpaths as narrow as 1.8 meters sounded initially impossible, when first pro-posed on the maps. These limited proportions would also not have been possible from a con-ventional building regulation or zoning point of view. Thanks to the close co-operation between the local planning department, the university, and the architects together with the community, this experimental plan could be executed under a “special planning zone agreement “. Later, the buildings will be critically re-examined and, de-pending on the practical results, recommenda-tions for residential planning regulation amend-ments will be made.

Experiencing the already built urban layout is surprising, as the dimensions and the interwo-ven outdoor space with streets, footpaths, and small neighbourhood spaces work well with the human scale. The scale of the urban built-up spaces also allows the people to have a sense of control, which contributes to the safety of the community and the way in which they take pos-session of their neighbourhood.

Scenes of playing children on the streets, moth-ers doing their housework on the patios in front of their houses or people getting together for a chat on a little square are not romantic pictures in the head of the planner; they are what can already be seen in Kambi Moto.

In these aspects, the planners have learned from the community and how they previously have built their informal neighbourhoods. The best of both worlds has been brought together, and this is a great learning experience for the community as well as for the professionals.

Most of the 62 houses developed are starter houses (with ground floor only). The floor slab for the roof is used as a roof terrace for the time being until the beneficiary is able to continue to build up to the second, and finally the third, room, each an additional floor.

The toilet is also situated upstairs.

The construction is carried out by the residents themselves, with Pamoja Trust providing the support of a site manager and an architect. This team of professionals work with a community building team.

The community building team is quite expe-

rienced in the acquired skill of pre-fabrication of Laadies, the parabolic-shaped mini concrete slabs, cast into a cotton cloth, stretched in a purpose-made timber frame used as a floor slab. This construction method, as learned from a community exchange team from Bombay, proves to be a feasible and practical alternative for self-help builders, like those in Kambi Moto.


After the allocation of Kiamaiko a lot of people were pushed out of the area. These people didn’t have a place to go so they looked for an empty piece of land where they built houses made of Polythene paper. They built these houses in Mahira which is in the middle of Kiamaiko and Huruma estate. The portions of the land were given out by elders of the village and the people built the better houses using carton. In June 1983, 220 houses were burnt down and this caused a lot of problems. The chief of this area and social services then allowed them to rebuild their houses under the following rules;

• To build with mud and iron sheets.

• To build the houses in straight lines.

• That each house would be 12 ft x 12 ft.

• That each family would have one room.

• The walls of one room would join with the next house in line..


Mahira settlement in Huruma has approximately 160 households. The savings scheme in Mahira has 100 active members with 14 households ready for construction. Upgrading of housing in Huruma’s informal settlements has opened up discussions in these communities amongst the residents themselves and with the City Council, posing a great demand for organisation and ne-gotiation with local government. The processing of the house designs at the community level is taking place, with discussions around the sizes of houses being approximately 14 by 17sqm2 for Mahira.

Mahira means the place that got burnt. In 2001 the village had 332 houses, and a population of 1500 people. This land belongs to the Nairobi City Council and is 566 ft x 188 ft. Mahiira has only one toilet, which has 12 units: two are used as bathing rooms and two as stores. Mahiira has a mixture of ethnic groups, though the ma-jority are the Kikuyus, Borana and Kambas.

There are many problems in this area, namely;

• Fires happen frequently: recently almost 34 houses got burnt down.

• Houses being demolished by the rich

• There is only one toilet and it must serve the entire population

• There is no place to throw rubbish.

• Polluted water passes through the village and children suffer a lot from disease and infec-tions.

• The people who keep animals sleep with them in the same rooms which is unhealthy and also causes noise for the other neighbours

• If one has a car it is very hard to enter with it into the village; even walking on the paths is hard because animals are being sold along the paths.


• The houses are 10 ft x 10 ft and there is no space because the houses are too close to one another.

• If someone gets sick, one has to be carried in a blanket to the road.

• There is no drainage and when it rains the houses get flooded so people have to wear gum-boots, and the children play in this water and get sick.

• The toilet is only one and is used by 650 people and because at night there is no security, people help themselves by using tins and papers, i.e. flying toilets.

• There are slaughterhouses that are in the mid-dle of our houses; the footpaths have become market places, therefore there are no footpaths.

Our village is made up of different tribes, i.e. Kikuyus, Kambas, Boranas, Luos, and so forth. We were told by the chief to pay 3,000/= if one wants to build their own house



The reasons we moved are:

• The late mayor Margaret Kenyatta requested them to be moved to the graveyard because of the uncleanliness.

• Because their houses were made of paper and it was near the city centre the mayor requested them to be moved far away from the town. They were moved to Kiambu in an area called Mji wa Huruma near the Karura forest, in the year 1973.

After 3 years the government allocated land in Kariobangi and this went on till 1978. Others were taken to Ngei, (a neighbouring informal settlement) and the rest of us were told to stay somewhere temporarily as they look for plots for us. Those who remained were about 380 peo-ple. We built houses made of paper and carton, since then we believed that the government was going to allocate for us plots.


On 16th June 1984 a fire broke out and de-stroyed all our property and the government allocated 79 people out of 400 to permanent places. It rained for 14 days as we waited to be allocated but we were not allocated. We were sleeping in the open and we had to cover our-selves with papers.

One day the social workers and city council re-quested us to build temporary structures near the river and they told us not to build houses of mud or sheet and the houses were to be small because we would only be there for 14 days.

The 333 people, plus another 47 people who the social workers came with, plus others brought by the chief, settled near the river to this day. The problems encountered are: no toilets and water, and the houses are too small for us since we have children living with us. Our dream is that one day we will get to have a permanent home.


Most of the houses are next to the river (a tribu-tary of Nairobi river). People were allocated the temporary plots where they were built houses by the Nairobi City Council. Later, others were allocated temporary plots to build houses by the area chief. In January 1997 we got a notice from an individual and City Council asking us to leave the area. Gitathuru houses 305 families and has a population of about 1000, which is a mixture of all tribes. The people here have small busi-nesses. Problems here include: polluted water from the other houses nearby and garbage that is thrown onto their roofs by the same people.

Between the months of May and October 2001 the Nairobi City Council, in conjunction with Pamoja Trust and the residents of five Huruma villages, carried out an enumeration and map-ping exercise as a step towards the regulariza-tion of these settlements. The enumeration process had five key elements to it. The number-ing and identification of the parameters of the settlements and the measurement of the area occupied by them, the numbering of each house in the settlement, the administering of a ques-tionnaire to each household, the analysis and sharing of an initial report with all stakeholders, and finally the verification of the information ob-tained.


Community Toilet Facility:

In Gitathuru, the community decided at the time to build a community toilet, as well as a commu-nity room and caretaker’s flat, before any other construction was undertaken.

The whole construction was organised by the women and built by a community building team. In the process the community gained experience and confidence, which they achieved in working together.

The maintaining and managing of the toilet fa-cility is also done by a community committee, and after the first few months of practical ex-perience on how things are done best, some streamlining in the management is happening right now.

This is going to be a valuable experience the community is gaining, which is helping to con-trol and to design improvements in their neigh-bourhood. This exposure is going to be of value for other groups in Huruma as well, when they are ready to commence with building such facili-ties.

After having had construction experience from the community toilet site, the community is fac-ing the new challenge of building the first up-graded units.

However, drawing support from the Kambi Motto project, 13 houses of the first phase are already in working progress, with 60% almost finalised. The second phase of 20 house units is ready for commencement.

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SLUM PROFILES - Cities Alliance Home Page · Nairobi Inventory | 31 • The sewer system got blocked and lacks main-tenance. Open surface run-off from toilets wors - ens the health