Esipisu: Uhuru Kibera visit claims false

By Cyrus Ombati

Nairobi, Kenya: State House denied President Uhuru Kenyatta was scheduled to visit Kibera slums yesterday to issue title deeds as other reports indicated the function was cancelled for security reasons.

The planned issuance of title deed to Nubian beneficiaries of 288 acres hived off the 700-acre Kibera slums in Makina, Lindi, Mashimoni and Silanga areas has stoked controversy.

It was claimed yesterday President Kenyatta’s advisers told him not to attend the event organised by Lands Secretary Charity Ngilu at a venue adjacent to the District Commissioner’s office citing security concerns.

On Tuesday, a group of residents, who claimed they had been left out of the exercise, staged violent protests in Kibera slums and there were fears the presidential function could be disrupted.

But the President’s spokesman Manoah Esipisu said the visit was not in his diary.

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“It is not in his diary and has never been in his diary. I have been reading about it in the media,” said Esipisu.

Kibra MP Kenneth Okoth led the protests, saying key stakeholders were not 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 in a statement.

He added the process behind this supposed allocation of titles to the Nubians and other groups and individuals has been shrouded in mystery, and a lot of important questions remain unanswered.

Yesterday, the Lands ministry and police said the event had been cancelled indefinitely.

“There is no need for us to go there and later turn the guns on the locals. We are informed the event has been cancelled for the sake of safety,” said a senior police officer.