Maize in plenty in the middle of a slum that has so little grain

Two truckloads of maize heaped in gunny sacks drove out of Nairobi’s silos at Embakasi on Wednesday afternoon raising the attention of the sleepy stalls selling rusted nails, Sh100 T-shirts and Sh20 water bottles.

“Turushie moja tu” (please throw us one sack), they called on the National Youth Service personnel guarding the uncovered trucks.  Before the trucks left the depot, police officers were called in to escort the now pricey foodstuff.

The scarcity and high price of unga has pushed desperate Kenyans to the brink. With a two-kilogramme bag retailing at between Sh180 and Sh200,  few can afford a healthy meal.

While this has been attributed to drought that hit Kenya and several sub-Saharan countries, market distortions triggered by speculation are now  sending prices up.  “I bought a packet at Sh180 at the shop in the corner on Friday last week and we are being told it will be Sh200 soon,” Sofia Mukei, who owns a stall just a few meters from the National Cereals and Produce Board’s gate, said. “Those who have money can buy more,    but for me, I buy that small packet for myself and my grandchildren,” she adds.

Scarcity is now pushing customers to  hoard maize. This has the unintended consequence of creating an artificial high demand, further pushing up prices. Ms Mukei cannot afford to buy in bulk and it is her and the thousands who live in ‘Cereals’, the informal settlement that straddles NCPB Embakasi, who have to bear the brunt. 

Side hustle

At 58 years, she runs a stall that sells water, soft drinks and denim trousers. She also has a side hustle where she stores goods that her neighbours hawk for a fee of Sh20 a night.

“I live just down there,” she says, pointing at the black Nairobi river choked in sewerage and plastic. She says all she wants is to feed herself and her grandchildren in dignity. But times are tough and she only managers to sell one pair of denim jeans a week. The stock that moves in her store is  water and soft drinks. Can she buy unga so exorbitantly priced yet it is stored just a few yards from her in giant concrete silos? 

“We were wondering. Did all that maize come from NCPB and where was it going?” she asked.

The truckloads are part of government reserve grain set aside for tragedies.  

NCPB does not sell maize directly to individuals .However, an individual can store their produce at the silos for a fee.

The millers have leased the silos and literally control most of the grain and can influence demand and supply at will.

“In 2008 President Mwai Kibaki’s government helped us. We were spending days at Cereals lining up to fight for maize. There was a shortage so we were allowed to get 10 kilos directly. That time it was announced, this time round who will take you to Cereals stores? Will they even allow you in?” posed Mary Lena, who sells men’s shirts for Sh100 an item. “That time they really helped people, the effect even caused maize prices to go down,” Lena said. Instead the government is gifting colluding millers with huge reserves of maize at a cheap price that is not transmitted to the shelf.