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Many Lives Lost in Past City Slum Conflicts

The Nation (Nairobi)
NEWS
December 18, 2006
Posted to the web December 18, 2006

By Nation Reporter
Nairobi
Bloody clashes have rocked two city slums in the past.
Kibera has experienced several cases of violence leading to deaths of many
people.
The recent case was about two months ago when three people were killed in a
night of violence.
In another incident earlier, two people were shot dead and 20 people were
arrested.
Then, the residents were demonstrating over the grabbing of a plot by a British
charity to build a school that had been taken over by a private developer.
Last month, violent confrontations in Mathare slums left eight people dead and
many more homeless after houses were burnt.
The clashes, which began in Mathare C area and spread to Area 4C, were the
culmination of rivalry between two vigilante groups - Mungiki and Taliban.
General Service Unit officers were deployed to Mathare to end the fighting that
lasted three days.
Illicit drinks
Scores were wounded and fled heavy fighting between the two gangs over
collection of weekly levies from brewers of illicit drinks and monthly security
fees.
Two of those killed in the slum were shot by the police, while the rest were
hacked to death by the gangsters.
Nairobi provincial police officer at the time, Mr Kingori Mwangi, and
provincial commissioner James Waweru, visited the area and imposed a curfew
from 9pm to dawn, in a bid to restore peace.


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