Kibra women sigh with relief after incident-free polls

Kibera women sigh with relief after incident-free polls

In many conflicts, women and children usually bear the brunt of the ensuing violence. In 2007/8, Kibera was one of the hot-spot that witnessed the worst of post-election violence. This time around, Muslim women from the area are relieved that things were peaceful

By Halima Lul Ali

Amina Abdallah,45, is preparing some samosas for sale at her door in Kibera’s Kambi area. With her grandchild, Abdulmajid Twaha, next to her it gives a feeling of someone ready to duck any unwelcomed attention to the safety of the house.

It is easy to understand why if you have witnessed or heard what happened to her, and many others like her, in the wake of chaos that followed the disputed general elections of 2007.

Things happened so fast for anyone to anticipate what would later come to be known as the post-election violence.

Different people were affected by the violence in different ways. While others lost millions of shillings to vandalism some lost the only little savings they had to thieves.

Mama Amina was one of those who almost lost their little businesses in Kibera. She makes and sells snacks to children in front of her house every day. In 2007, the post-election violence found her flat-foot with all her belongings exposed to the outside world. That morning, she says, she did not expect any trouble.

“A group of young rowdy men was coming towards me shouting and I did not want to wait.” She took off leaving her house open and her business to the mercy of the rowdy group.

In less than five minutes all her small business was ruined and her house broken into. The money, Sh3000 hidden in her house was also stolen. Luckily no one was hurt.

But Mama Habiba, an elderly woman who lives not far from Mama Amina, was not so lucky.

As the police suppressed the rowdy group from leaving Kibera, the violence had been brought close to home. Her house is situated next to the main road and it must have been for this close vicinity that a tear gas canister lobbed by the police to the crowd landed next to her.

“My eyes were affected and now I have to wear glasses to see well,” she says.

Also she had been forced to participate in the chaos at least by showing she supported the groups passing in front of where she lives. “I would raise my hands up in jubilation to show them to show my support.”

She has been weaving the traditional Nubian food covers called Kuta for a living in over 45 years. No sooner had the violence started than she lost her supply of reeds which were brought from Ngong area in the outskirts of Nairobi.

For both women it was difficult to buy food as shops were closed but they had to make use of their imaginations to put food on the table.

Back to the elections of 2013 and peace seems to have been given some room. There is this uncertain confidence in the two women that everything will be fine.

“We are praying for peace and that there will be no problem to bother us in our neighbourhood,” says Mama Habiba. She adds that politicians must always take their grievances to the courts, as it is the case now, rather than for calling people out to the streets.

Mama Amina says: “We should be protective of whatever little we have by maintaining peace.”

One can feel the relief of mothers in Kibera that this time the fight for the numbers after the elections will be fought in courts. Far away from their homes and children.

SOURCE The New Dawn.