Samwel Kumba
20 January 2008
Nairobi — Some residents of Kibera, the Nairobi slum hit hard by violence since the announcement of the controversial presidential election, have started a campaign to restore peace to the area.
More than 200 women drawn from both sides of the political divide and different tribes plan to march through the slum in attires branded with peace messages.
Led by Ms Jane Anyango, a young mother of four, and 70-year-old Trufosa Aleyo, a grandmother of nine, the group visited the area District Officer (DO) Kepha Maribe yesterday to seek his support for their cause.
Mr Marube promised the women that he will help fit the branded clothes for their representatives and urged them to traverse the entire area drumming up support for peace.
The DO called on those who had camped at the Jamhuri Park grounds to return to their homes by Tuesday, January 22.
"We are officially closing the camp and the last day they should be there is Tuesday. I will give food to the women from various villages in Kibera for distribution because they know their neighbours well," said Mr Marube.
Ms Anyango appealed to the wives of leaders on the opposite sides of the current political dispute to plead with them (the politicians) to embrace peace and dialogue.
"We are not calling on President Mwai Kibaki or ODM Leader Raila Odinga alone. We are also calling on the First lady Lucy Kibaki and Mrs Ida Odinga to plead on our behalf. They have children and let me remind them that our children are dear to us as theirs are to them," said Ms Anyango.
She narrated how a young woman met her death by a bullet on Friday night as she (the victim) went to a nearby shop.
"The poor girl was not even protesting. The police were shooting indiscriminately and they shot her too. That is innocent life lost. This has to stop," said Ms Onyango.
The number of those who died in Kibera following the Friday protests stood at five. Fifteen people were admitted to Masaba Hospital in Nairobi with bullet wounds.
The hospital authorities told the Sunday Nation that some still had bullets lodged in their bodies as doctors examined the dangers of operation to remove the bullets.
A number of them had fractured legs. It was confirmed that three people died on arrival at the hospital that fateful night from bullet-related injuries.
Mr David Odhiambo narrated how he found himself in the fracas as he headed home.
"I am lucky to be alive. I was just heading home and when I reached Karanja Road, which heads to Old Kibera, I heard gunshots from down the railway line. I started running home. But I did not go far. Suddenly my leg became numb and I sat down. I knew I had been shot. Just a few metres behind me, another man, who was from town, had just been shot. He died on the spot. I count myself lucky," he said from his hospital bed.
It was the same story from other victims of the Kibera shootings at the hospital. All of them said they owed it to God to be alive.
Ms Aleyo called on youths to avoid acts of hooliganism, saying she needs peace to sell her vegetables and feed her children and grandchildren.
The DO promised to give them over 200 iron sheets he had received from well-wishers to assist them rebuild their business sheds.
The women decried police whom they accused of breaking into their houses in the pretext of looking for trouble makers and tear gassing their shanties despite the fact that they had little children inside.
"They know that the youths are now not in the houses. Why are they throwing tear gas canisters into the houses where we have our toddlers?" Ms Aleyo asked.
The women and Mr Marube exuded confidence that calm and peace will return to Kibera soon.
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