The Nubis of Kibera- A social history of the Nubians and Kibera Slums

Thesis on the Nubians by Johan de Smedt, to read please click on the link below to download the Thesis :

The Nubis of Kibera

For more information kindly contact Johan de Smedt at johandesmedt2001@gmail.com

Thank you.Happy Reading.

The life and times of revered Imam, Sheikh Mahmud Suleiman

By Jamaldin Yahya

Monday the 12th of December 2011, evening descended with a heavy heart in Kibera, after news spread that Sheikh Mahmud passed away after a long illness. It was a great shock, considering that he gave his last Darsa on Friday. It quickly went down on us that our beloved Sheikh has left for his heavenly abode.

Sheikh Mahmud was well known beyond his humble home, a fact attested by those present in his burial that was conducted at the Kibera. He was well known especially by non Muslims for his radio khutba back in the 1970s, as the Naima Kubwa Kubwa na naima Ndogo Ndogo, for his tafsir (translation) of Bismillahi.

He was born in 1930, got his education in a local primary school in Nairobi, worked with the Ministry of labor and Mowlem Constructions before he left for Kisumu to study Islam and continued his education in Zanzibar.

In his various classes, Sheikh Mahmud used every opportunity to spread the faith. To him, it was a calling and he fulfilled it with a passion.

Sheikh Mahmud attracted us to Islam through his appealingly beautiful sermons, he attracted the educated as well as the villagers. His was truly a gift. He called upon us to internalize Islam and live it fully. He was the epitome of this message. He had a deep love for Islam. His passion was in the Quran, would read it, disclosing its beauty in style and emphasizing its pragmatism.

When he was doing tafsir (translation) he was at his peak, enjoying every sentence, every word and every alphabet, his commentary entranced his audience. His love for Islam was unblemished

Sheikh had qualities that are rare in today’s religious leaders.

He was humble; he related to all, regardless of age, sex or socio economical status. He could be found taking to an elderly women and thoroughly enjoying himself. He could not pass a child without calling them by name and exchanged banters. He was down to earth, pragmatic, humorous and social, never allowing formalism to stand between him and others.

He had a large capacity for patience, never allowed anger to cloud his mind, never became emotional, never took sides in the many local sectarian divisions, never allowed greed nor attraction for richness or status sway him from his calling. He suffered in silence and he withstood temptation to use his position to enrich himself or get himself close to the dignitaries who continually call upon him. And his mistrust of Government officials brings to life the saying of the Prophet (S);

Idha ra’atumul ulamaa ala abwabil muluk, wa bi’sa ulamma, wa bi’sa muluk ( when you see a scholar at the door step of those in Authority, it exposes the evil nature of a scholar and those in authority).

He was a scholar, an intellectual, educationist, philosopher, mystic, and still maintained his humbleness.

Sheikh created an Institution that was the biggest in East Africa; a madrassa of more than 30 classrooms. He started many Darsas, preached in different forums, was a mufassir, an Imam, a guide and advisor both to the old and the young. He was an institution by himself. Sheikh left to the Nubian community a big legacy which must not be allowed to wither or die, this legacy must find a befitting heir.

His clarion call as recalled by Maalim Hassan was; Kalimatullahi hiyal ulia. The word of Allah is supreme. His favorite Quran quote was;

Inna Kaumu takhadu hadha Quran mahjuran

Inna Laha la yughayiru ma bi qaum, hata yughairu ma bi anfusihim (Verily never will Allah change the condition of people until they change it themselves-with their own souls) (13:11).

Among those who send their condolence include Prime Minister, Rt. Hon Raila Odinga, Ambassador of Sudan, the Cultural Counselor of Islamic Republic of Iran, and Nominated MP- Sheikh Mohammed Dor.

The writer is resident of Kibra and former student of Sheikh Mahmud Sulaiman.

Source - http://www.thenewdawn.info/

Muslim community mourns the death of a legendary scholar

Students of Islam in Kenya and East and Central Africa are well acquainted with the name of Sheikh Mahmud Suleiman. He was one of the leading figures of the new generation of Islamic scholars which in Kenya began in the nineteen-sixties. The scholars of this period included members of the ulama as well as concerned intellectuals whose collective efforts led to the emergence of an environment in Kenya which was filled with enthusiasm for Islam.

Mahmud Suleiman joined this Islamic propagation work when he was very young, and contributed immensely to its evolution after his education which began in Nairobi and continued in Kisumu before completing at the Muslim Academy in Zanzibar in mid- sixties.

Mahmud was among the very few Muslim scholars who presented Islam in the light of prevailing realities. He masterfully presented the lofty principles and teachings of Islam in a simple and common-sense language. His interpretation of Islam unraveled and unveiled a faith with unlimited depth, logic, activity and simplicity.

While most Kenyan Muslim masses may have been aware of Mahmud’s contributions through his sermons in the national radio service (KBC), there were, however, sizeable groups of mostly madrasa populations who were in constant touch with his ideas. The inspirations from his lectures were enough to travel from one individual to another, and provide the necessary ingredients for the fruition of the new spirit of Islam realized in most parts of Kenya today.

Based profoundly upon Quranic principles, he provided matter-of-fact answers on how to draw Muslims closer to Allah in order to enrich his life and establish a progressive society based on justice, peace and equality. Sheikh Mahmud’s style of conveying the message of Islam was unique. It was fresh, humorous, flowery and extremely earthy.

In reality, he was a teacher for the Muslim community in not only Kenya but the larger Eastern Africa. From 1965 onwards his life was centred on the mosque, madrasa and his family while concentrated on educating the community. Through Mahmud’s mentorship there have emerged competent and committed Muslims who work not only as madrasa teachers but also in both civil and military services in the country. His students cannot be counted.

However, to limit Mahmud’s life to madrasa teaching is to do grave injustice to this great Islamic soul. Besides being a great Islamic teacher, Sheikh Mahmud was also actively present in the corporate and social scene. He worked with Molem Construction Company as foreman in the 1940’s and 50’s and also in the Ministry of Labour. Mahmud was also a human rights activist who engaged in the campaign for land for the Nubian community in Kenya. He was also a leading peace maker.

Sheikh Mahmud’s legacy is embodied in the basic things without which the Kibera community would have been ruined. His 1960s classes against consumption of liquor played a big role in shaping the youth at that time. He exposed the evil of the drink every time until its harmful effects got ingrained in the minds of the youth and they eventually abandoned it completely.

The passing on of Sheikh Mahmud Suleiman on 12th December, 2011 at the age of 81 has indeed left an indelible memory not only in the minds of his innumerable students but also in people from diverse social and cultural backgrounds who had an opportunity to interact with him. The ideal way to immortalize him would be by practicing what he preached, for it was his wish to see not only the Nubian community but all Muslims reform and become better Muslims who can contribute positively in nation building and humanity at large.

Certainly we came from Allah, and to Him is our return ( Quran: 2: 156).

Source http://www.thenewdawn.info/

Prime Minister mourns Sheikh Mahmud Suleiman

By Farida Mwangi

Revered Imam of Makina Jamia mosque in Kibera, Nairobi, Sheikh Mahmud Suleiman has been laid to rest following his demise on Tuesday.

Born in 1930, Sheikh Mahmud Suleiman, will be remembered for being the first Imam to host an Islamic programme in the then Voice of Kenya (VoK) and an ardent agitator of Nubian land rights in Kibera.

Meanwhile, Prime Minister Raila Odinga has sent a message of condolence to family, friends and the entire Nubian community following the sudden death of Sheikh Mahmud.

In his message Raila termed Sheikh Mahmud as a spiritual leader whose efforts cannot be over emphasised. He said that the Muslim and Nubian community has lost a unifying figure adding that as the area Member of Parliament, he will ensure that Mahmud’s dream and struggle to have Nubian land given back is fulfilled.

Several embassies including Iran and Sudan have also sent similar messages of condolences.

Sheikh Mahmud Suleiman will be remembered as a mentor and tutor to various sheikhs in the country.

Until his death, Sheikh Mahmud Suleiman was the Imam of Jamia Mosque, Kibera.

Source http://www.thenewdawn.info/

Kenyan Nubians and the struggle for acceptance

Emma Nzioka | NATION Nubian children perform a traditional dance. Youths from the community usually have to go through a process called “vetting” where they are required to prove their connections to Kenya through documents like grand parents’ birth certificates before they can get a national identification card. Until recently, the whole process used to be supervised by a “vetting committee” in the Registrar of Persons Office.

By Mwaura Samora msamora@ke.nationmedia.com
Posted Thursday, December 15 2011 at 18:00

In Summary

• In Nairobi’s Kibera slums live thousands of marginalised Kenyans whose ancestors were brought to Kenya from Sudan in the early 1890s to serve as soldiers in the British Army. Although they gave their all to the British empire under the Kings African Rifles service during the building of the Uganda Railway and later in the First and Second World Wars, their uneasy relationship with the colonial masters boiled over into independent Kenya. Now they want an end to the iniquities that include a deliberate attempt not to recognise Kibera as their ancestral home

Sitting outside the battered door to his old family house in the Makina sector of Kibera slums, Hussain gazes at the setting sun as he ponders what the future holds for him.

Unlike the fading sunshine that is guaranteed to grace the skies over the world famous shantytown the next day, the 25-year-old’s tomorrow is clouded in uncertainty.

With no national identity card to quantify his citizenship, no college certificate or a godfather in high places, the young man’s destiny looks as gloomy as the rapidly approaching darkness.

Like Hussain, the fate of thousands of Nubian youths residing in Kibera and other places across the country hangs precariously in the ethnic balance.

“When I went to apply (for the ID) the third time, I indicated that I’m a Luo because I speak Dholuo fluently. After giving them my school certificate and photocopies of my parents’ IDs, they asked me to present the death certificate of my grandfather,” he says.

“I have never met my grandfather. When he died I wasn’t even born. Back then when people died, no one bothered about certificates and all that nonsense. That is why it does not make sense for someone to ask me for such things. I think they just want to deny me citizenship”.

Without an identity card, one is virtually a non-entity in Kenya because they cannot get employment, buy property or transact any official business.

Nubian youths usually have to go through a process called “vetting” where they are required to prove their connections to Kenya through documents like grand parents’ birth certificates before they could get an ID. Until recently, the whole process used to be supervised by a “vetting committee” in the Registrar of Persons Office

“At the age of 18, your life as a Kenyan stops,” one youth from Kibera laments. “It is only when you apply for an ID card that your realise you have been living a lie. This country does not want you and the years you have spent here are all a farce.”

When they finally get the cards, sometimes after waiting for up to three years, landing a job proves even more difficult.

“You have to have someone to introduce you to people who matter,” says Hussain. “But we have no one in politics, no one in government, no one in high places places… we are doomed.”

But the Nubians’ quest to change their status from “nowhere people” — a term used to refer to stateless communities — to recognition received a boost last week after American freelance photographer Greg Constantine compiled a pictorial book entitled Kenya’s Nubians, Then & Now.

Published in conjunction with United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), the book documents the community’s history in photos, personal testimonies and a recount of important dates.

“My motivation for compiling this book was because very little is known about the Nubians despite the fact that the area that they live in has been heavily documented,” Constantine explained during the book’s launch a the pricey Lord Errol Restaurant, Nairobi. “The project also helped me in pushing the agenda of stateless people in Africa”.

The book, expected to be in bookstores across Kenya by January next year, was part of a bigger project called the Nowhere People where Constantine highlights the plight of stateless people in Africa and Asia through photography.

Source-http://www.nation.co.ke/Features/DN2/Kenyan+Nubians+and+the+struggle+for+acceptance+/-/957860/1289916/-/les7m9/-/index.html

Disowned, thrown out by family because of HIV

Disowned, thrown out by family because of HIV

By Farida Mwangi

Naturally, human beings seek support of close family members and relatives whenever faced with calamities. And this is what Zakia Yusuf, 40, hoped for upon testing HIV positive seven years ago.

What awaited her was utter shock and people she was counting on for hope and support were nowhere to be seen let alone wish to associate with her.

The stigma is so real and trails her like her shadow such that people in her community talk about her in hushed tones wherever she goes.

In a community known to harbour reservations and coming to terms with the HIV reality, Zakia’s situation is not unique. It is common knowledge that Muslims living with the virus are facing the worst sort of discrimination due to their condition.

With the commemoration of the World AIDS Day in December 1st every year, Zakia’s bold move to come out and disclose her status is a wake up call to Muslims that they need to change tact to combat HIV.

“My predicament began when I tested positive after frequent on and off sickness. But through the help of a friend, I was introduced to Lihara Health Project in Kibera and was counselled and later tested. Upon discovering my status, I accepted my condition as this was the first step in the long journey of living positive under medication,” begins Zakia.

Mum kicked her out of home

“Barely months of getting to terms with my condition, I had not yet disclosed my status to my immediate family members and relatives. However, word got around to my mother that I was ailing from the ‘big disease’ and that was the start of stigmatisation.”

Zakia’s mum was furious, cried and even went as far as ridiculing her in front of other family members and this literally broke her. “Unaona ile shida Zakia ameleta? (Can you see the problems that Zakia has brought this family?),” Her mum taunted her.

Basically, they were afraid that I was going to become a burden to them,” says Zakia.

What followed next was Zakia’s lowest moment in life as her mum did what she never expected. “Can you imagine that my own mother kicked me and my only child out of her house?”

Zakia was told to go and find elsewhere to live despite protests from other family members against her (mum’s) decision.

Having lost her dad several years back, Zakia was stranded. She was jobless, ailing and with a child to fend for.

“The only person who came to my rescue was grand mum (now deceased). She had several rental rooms and offered to shelter me,” says Zakia.

When Zakia moved to her grand mum’s rental houses, she was welcomed by her sister who was also living there along with her children. What followed surprised Zakia.

“The same uneasiness that I witnessed from my mum was played back with my sister. She was uneasy about my presence there having been informed of my status.”

Zakia’s grand mum was quick to note the uneasiness and opted to transfer Zakia to different house. “Grand mum was a wise woman and quickly noted what I was going through and offered a different place.”

Post-Test group

Having settled and now with a peace of mind, Zakia through the help of a fellow Muslim woman joined a HIV Post-Test group where she found many like her. It is through sharing experiences within the group that they gave each other strength and hope to live to see another day.

“It is here that I got courage after different women in the post-test group narrated their ordeal through stigmatisation from friends, family members, relatives and the community in general.”

In fact this post-test group became Zakia’s adopted family. “What I liked about my ‘adopted family’ was that doctors, health workers, trainers among others visited the group and each imparted different skills that have made me to be whom I am today. I can proudly declare that I have been empowered and trained as a Community Health Worker,” says Zakia.

How child is fairing

It is through such trainings that Zakia is often called to give health talks in workshops and forums in different parts of Kibera and Nairobi. It is from participating from these forums that have seen her able to fend for herself.

When asked about how her child is coping with her condition, Zakia says: “He is 13 years and very understanding. Despite what we have gone through together, he is supportive though I am yet to disclose my status to him. I have also taken him for HIV test, which he turned negative, so as to take the necessary precaution. Meanwhile, I always advise him to take care of himself, that life has ups and downs, sickness and health. I also thank God that he is very obedient and always spending most of his time at the mosque and madrassa.”

Zakia’s son has also given her strength. “He is always concerned about my health at times reminding me to take medication and helps me with house hold chores.”

Family now wants to associate with me

Though Zakia’s immediate family members had long written her off or even hoped she would die, they have been taken aback by her resolve in life.

“I am always up and about attending workshops, seminars, weddings and funerals just to mention but a few. Life is as normal as any other person’s. My immediate family members thought I was going to be a burden and are now realizing they made a mistake to cut me out. In fact, they now want to associate with me.”

From Zakia’s vast experience in interacting with Muslims affected by HIV/AIDS, Marhaba also sought to know from her how Muslims are putting up in the face of HIV/AIDS. Zakia reveals a sorry state that Muslims are in.

“Stigma is rife among Muslims as many tend to associate it with zina (adultery and promiscuity). And so if status is disclosed as positive, many Muslim families shroud it in secrecy. Thus do not be surprised that upon enquiring on the progress of a Muslim who is ailing to be told that so and so is tired, sleeping among other excuses.”

Way forward for Muslims

What Marhaba learnt was that many Muslims are ‘hidden’ in homes and only taken for medication when their situation gets worse. “Others test positive but cannot disclose their status to those they are living with for fear of stigmatisation.”

According to Zakia, the way forward for Muslims is to seek knowledge on HIV and be tested. “When one embarks on Home Based Care, that is when you get the real picture. Therefore, Muslims should come out, talk and seek help. HIV/AIDS is not only spread through sex but other ways.” She also advices Muslims that most organisations assisting in the fight against HIV/AIDS are always willing to help.

http://www.thenewdawn.info/