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Misri is a tiny village perched on a ridge in Limuru East Ward, Kiambu County.
To get to this village, you have to pass by ‘Farmers,’ a small shopping centre that was built by white settlers during the colonial era.
To get to Misri, you have to go down a steep cemented path leading to a wall and a corridor with stairs to the dusty slum that give residents a vantage view of Limuru town and its rolling tea plantations.
Misri has been plagued by calamities, ranging from strange diseases, strong winds, lightning that sometimes cause fires and bedbugs which have persisted for ages.
Villagers told The Nairobian that the strange things that befall this isolated slum are due to sexual promiscuity and other forms of immorality that are a punishment akin to that of the biblical Misri.
Peter Kangethe, an elder, said that Misri has existed since the 1950s when it was a hotbed of robbery, chang’aa brewing and prostitution.
“Misri became a settlement after the white settlers established a drinking joint at the foot of the hill where the slum is located. Men and women from Misri indulged in sexual behaviour with the white settlers. This was passed to generations and as we speak, the vice still plagues the slum. Most of the inhabitants are people from other counties who have been employed by the industries in Limuru town”.
Mzee Kangethe adds that, “People from Misri were treated as outcasts because they were dirty, malnourished and lived in wooden houses. Children from Misri were despised by others because of the strange diseases like boils. Misri was a dirty place full of garbage everywhere”.
Joseph Njenga, another villager, says he was born in Misri.
“I was born here and we are despised because we live in ramshackle houses on top of a hill. Yes, it’s true that people here engage in reckless and casual sex and this could be the reason for the poverty and isolation. Strong winds like the ones in the desert strike our village but again this is the only place we know, it’s our home.”
George Kanja, another resident, recalls how a thief stole githeri from a kitchen and plastered his doorstep with human waste.
“Here you have to be careful. The many corners in this area are very dangerous. Someone will steal from you and you can’t trace him or her because once they get to a corner, they’ll be gone. We need for security to be enhanced here”.
Esther Wanjiru, 50, a community health volunteer in Misri says that Misri lacks a dumpsite, yet 13,000 people live in the slum in a deplorable state. “It’s only here that women are giving birth in their homes. Something needs to be done.”
Misri Nyumba Kumi initiative chairman, Richard Kariuki explained that they are working with the government to ensure that cases of robbery and prostitution are wiped out in the area.
“We have identified crime hot spots. The corners are very dangerous. We are looking for a new name which we hope will transform this village. The people are tired of carrying this burden for more than five decades. Chang’aa dens have been replaced with churches,” he added.
