Pain of Mathare floods victims in bid to replace crucial documents

David Juma, shows where his house was before it was swept away by floodwaters in Mathare 4A area. [Jacinta Mutura, Standard]

Standing on the space he called home for more than 16 years along Mathare River in Mathare 4A area, David Juma is a disturbed man.

It is on this very ground, he witnessed everything he had worked for and cherished swept away by flash floods that tore Mathare, leaving hundreds of families devastated in April this year.

The transformation of this land into a vegetable garden flourishing along the river’s edge, depicts his spirit of resilience, but he is staring at a more devastating loss.

Juma not only lost his property and a house perched on the riverbank, but like hundreds of other victims, he lost crucial documents such as the national identity cards that not only anchor his identity but also facilitates access to essential services and employment.

Other key documents include birth certificates, academic papers such as Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education (KCSE) and Kenya Certificate of Primary Education (KCPE) result slips, which were destroyed when their homes were submerged. “My wife and I lost our national identity cards. Our children’s birth certificates were also swept away,” said Juma.

The victims are now calling on the government and local leaders to intervene and help them replace the documents. The above-normal rainfall that pelted the country in April, 2024 killed about 15 people in Mathare area and destroyed property worth millions.

The affected residents argue that the high cost of replacing these documents has worsened their struggles. Before the changes in November 2023, applicants did not pay any fee to obtain a national identity card. However, following the revision, replacing an ID card now costs Sh1,000 from the previous Sh100, while applying for a new card is currently charged Sh300. New birth certificate applications quadrupled to Sh200 from previous Sh50. Then Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said the revised fees were informed by escalating costs of financing budget and a runaway debt the government was dealing with.

For Juma’s family of six to acquire the documents, he will need at least Sh2,400 to replace his ID, his wife’s and his children’s birth certificate.

The floodwaters may have receded but reality of displacement left behind continues to to bite. Having resorted to casual jobs that pay below Sh500, Juma said paying for the documents would not be a priority.

“Right now, buying food is difficult. How can I go pay for an ID card yet my family doesn’t’ have food?” he posed. Some have lost job opportunities due to lack of identification. For Juma, the loss of ID also cost him his casual job at British Army Training Unit in Kenya barracks in Kahawa.

“I lost that job because they cannot hire me without the identity card. I was earning Sh800 a day and I had only worked for one week then the floods hit,” he added.

He appealed to the government to conduct a free-of-charge mass replacement of the lost documents.

“We were more than 50 families along this place and everything was swept away. We are rebuilding from scratch,” said Juma.