Kenya: Constitution Heralds a New Dawn for the Nubians

 By Eric Sande

Having lived in Kenya for over a century now, the Nubian community continues to be discriminated against. The Nubians have been categorized as ‘detribalized natives’ and not a native tribe to Kenya by the colonial regime, thus denying them the right to claim land on native reserves.

As Kenya wakes up to the dawn of a new era with the promulgation of a new constitution on 27 August, the Nubian community in Kenya have a reason to breathe a sigh of relief.

“In this new constitution, a land commission will be formed and nine people from Kibera will be nominated and confirmed in Parliament to help resolve the Kibera land issue”, said Water and Irrigation assistant minister Mwangi Kiunjuri.

During the early colonial times in the late 1880s, Sudanese soldiers of black origin were integrated into the British colony armed forces then brought to Kenya in the early 1900s. Some went to western and northern Uganda, while others ended up in Kismayu, Somalia.  In 1912 the Nubians acted in defence of Kenya and were bestowed 4197 acres of land by the British government gazetted in 1917 as land for Sudanese Askaris (soldiers) and their dependents. The Nubians named the land, kibra (land of the forest) currently known as Kibera conspicuously identified of being the largest slum settlement in sub-Saharan Africa.

But at independence in 1963, the Nubians were identified as Kenyans dispossessed, downtrodden minorities and a foreign community. This has since kept them as second class citizens. Government representation, tokenism and space in the political circles have been issues they have lived to dream about.

Amin Salim, a Nubian community elder from Kibera said: “The people who originally settled in Kibera will finally be recognized under this new constitution and be given their rights. What we call the slum now is a government land and no one is landlord in Kibera. We believe the government will now give us back our community land”.

Their bestowed land Kibera has for long been an issue of contention. The Nubians’ efforts to brand Kibera as their ‘community land’ has often met legal hurdles. In 1971, demarcation plans set by the then government for title land parcels in Kibera did not bear any fruits.  Nubian claims to title deeds for land in Kibera have never been recognized, but they continued to be considered as squatters in a land they settled in the early 20th century.

But 47 years after independence and with the coming into force of a new constitution, the Nubians have a reason to celebrate.

Article 63 of Chapter 5 of the new constitution states that community land shall be vested in and be held by communities identified on the basis of ethnicity, culture or similar community of interest.

Article 33 of Chapter 4 asserts the freedom of expression, including the right to seek, receive and impart information and ideas, the freedom of artistic creativity, academic freedom and the freedom of scientific research.

The precedent of the new law’s reconstructed governance will recognize the rights of minorities and indigenous people over traditionally owned land. This will enable the Nubians improve their self esteem, explore their talents and improve their deplorable living standards in Kibera.