A Kenyan Journey Through Slums to Posh Places

Even as a new class system emerges in a land riddled with crime, corruption and poverty, devolution offers a ray of hope.

(Sign up for our free newsletter (www.fairobserver.com/newsletter) and follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter)

My Kenyan friends have long asked me to write on their country. After much hesitation, I am penning my impressions. At the outset, readers must know that I am no expert on Kenya. So, they must take everything I write with a fistful if not a pinch of salt.

The most striking impression I have of Kenya comes from a walk I took from Southlands Estate to Valley Arcade. I didn’t take an Uber, taxi or matatu, the mythical minivan service. I walked over to the meeting against the express advice of my hosts who maintained I was taking an unsafe route. In their view, walking along the edge of Kibera, Nairobi’s legendary slum, demonstrated I was a naive mzungu asking for trouble.

Slums, Sewers, Women and Young Men

Truth be told, my hosts were right to fear my choice. During my walk, I went off the grid and took a detour through Kibera. It reminded me of slums in India but something was a bit different. There was aggression in the air that Indian slums lack. It is not that Indian slums are peaceful places with people happy in their poverty as some gullible tourists proclaim. Such poverty-ridden places have their slumlords, there are fights over water and vicious violence breaks out from time to time. Yet the air you breathe in India lacks the menace in the air of Kibera.

You can read the full article here: https://www.fairobserver.com/region/africa/visit-kenya-tourism-travel-nairobi-kibera-slums-world-news-79902/

Sign up for our free newsletter (www.fairobserver.com/newsletter) and follow us on social media: Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter