Deal could see Nubians and others get titles
At least 50 titles could be issued to members of more than 20 communities living in Kibera slum alongside those set to be issued to members of the Nubian community, NairobiNews can reveal.
A new proposal mid-wifed by Senator Mike Sonko and Kibra and Lang’ata MPs Ken Okoth and Joash Olum, suggests the land will be within the slums.
Reducing tension
The MPs now feel including other communities would reduce tension that has seen communities riot over issuance of about 288 title deeds to the Nubians who, for decades, have claimed the land where Kibera stands belonged to their fore-fathers.
“It is a deal. We are supporting the Nubians but we have agreed other communities must be incorporated in the programme. It can never work with one community,” Sonko told NairobiNews.
On Wednesday, he invited the MPs to his office for a marathon meeting where they agreed to table the proposal to President Uhuru Kenyatta after deliberations.
When they met, the MPs tried to invite Lands Cabinet Secretary Charity Ngilu but she could not be reached.
“Mrs Ngilu created this tension because she went to the ground without involving local leaders. It was a blunder. Local leaders cannot be by-passed,” said the MPs in a joint statement.
On Saturday, Kibra MP Kenneth Okoth protested that he had not been consulted about the function.
“Kibera is a sensitive place that can easily explode into deadly violence if proper consultation is not done for a comprehensive plan on land and housing for all residents of the slum,” he said.
The MPs will next week meet twenty elders from each community to thrash out the details before seeking audience with the president.
“It is true we have agreed to meet with the elders. They will be involved in shortlisting the beneficiaries. The criteria will be discussed,” said the senator, who spoke on behalf of the MPs.
Mr Okoth has been in the forefront opposing the Ngilu titles in Kibera saying doing it for one community could lead to bloodshed.
Potential violence
The tension and potential violence over the titles are believed to have forced Mr Kenyatta to skip a much publicised event at the slums last weekend, even though State House refuted claims that the President was ever going there.
A second meeting will be held on Wednesday next week on the same and will include other MPs in the