Nubian community agrees to settle for 288 acres of Kibra land

By SAADA ABDI

The Nubian community has agreed to take 288 acres in Kibra as they wait to see how the government will compensate them for the loss of over 3800 acres.

The Nubian community has witnessed the 4100 acres of land which they initially owned in Kibra shrink as other communities move in to form the largest slum in Africa.

Lands cabinet secretary Charity Ngilu met with Nubian and other Kibra residents on September 30 and promised that a title deed will be drawn for 288 acres in trusteeship for the Nubians. The former Prime Minister and MP for Lang’ata which included Kibra is on record as having promised to give 300 acres to the small community.

“Don’t ask me about where the other land has gone,” Ngilu told the crowd at Kibra Day Academy ground. “But if you want to take the 288 acres give me a go ahead and I will proceed to register as a trust land.”

Kambi Nuru, Mashimoni, Makina and Lindi are among the villages that will fall in the trust land title.

Ngilu, who was not accompanied by any official from the National Land Commission (NLC), said that President Kenyatta’s administration was committed on its election campaign of transforming Kibra from slum to modern settlement.

Issa Abdulfaraj, the chairman of Nubian Council of Elders, asked all the residents to remain calm and avoid being taken by rumours as that would cause unnecessary tension.

“I would like to emphasise that we are one people,” said the elder. “We are all neighbours and help each other in time of trouble, which has been a Nubian custom.”

Mzee Abdulfaraj further said that Nubians everywhere in the country have lived with other communities peacefully.

It has not been clear how the government will compensate for the lost land but some Nubians are proposing that they be given land elsewhere. They also want the government to investigate the legality of how their land was given out and where issues of corruption and illegality are found, the land be restored to the community.

Source- The New Dawn.

Implementation of Constitution is saviour of Nubian Community

BY SAADA ABDI

The Nubian community wants to know what measures the government will take to ensure all the descendents of the community who have been living as stateless are registered as Kenyan citizens.

The community has also pleaded with the government to state the steps it will take to address the rights of Nubian land in Kibra which was originally granted to them by the British colonial government but has since been lost to other communities with the connivance of local administration.

Speaking during the Nubian professionals meeting held in Nairobi Ismail Ramadhan concentrated on the issue of economics and the identity of land as their resources on how it could be commercialised with the establishment of infrastructure and planning in order for the community to benefit.

But lack of land has become the biggest issue for Nubians who have lost over 4000 acres since Kenya’s independence from the British colony as the government either supported the loss of land or turned the other side when other people were on a land grabbing spree.

With only less than 700 acres remaining, most Nubians are living with the threat of evictions due to government’s upgrading programme where private houses are built and given out to people of other communities except Nubians. The growing Nubian population is not making things any better.

Nubians have been forced to live in semi-permanent houses in deplorable conditions because they lack security of tenure on their lands in the form title deeds, lack of water and other social amenities.

The community has been agitating for the their lost land and they not only want to know what the Uhuru Kenyatta government will do to restore this resource but also what measures the new government will take to include the marginalised community as citizens of Kenya.

Lawyer Vincent Ochieng told the meeting to that the solution to the land problem in Kibra lay in reading the Constitution, knowing of community’s rights and collecting evidence of dispossession. He advised the Nubians to take the available land and claim the rest through the Truth Justice and Reconciliation process.

History without evidence cannot work, he said, and added that the constitution does not clarify who the Nubian community is.

It is important for Nubian professionals to take their rightful position as advisers and resource persons.

The meeting came up with 10 recommendations to help the community including need for civic education , data collection with groups like Kenya Land Commission, engaging the ministry of lands and both county and national government among others strategies.

The Nubian professionals expressed optimism that with the new constitution their land rights will be restored especially with the help of area MP Hon. Ken Okoth who has promised to address the issue once and for all.

“We have a lot of faith in our Constitution and will cooperate and engage in it effectively to ensure that and agreeable solution is reached”, the Kibra MP told the professionals’ meeting.

Dr Asha Ibahim talked of need for frequent meetings to be effective at least once per month.

Source-The New Dawn.

Is Zakat really solving problems of the poor?

BY IDDI MUSYEMI

iddi@thenewdawn.info

The moment the Imam pronounced the second “asalaam aleykum” to mark the end of dhuhr prayers, he shot up with a plea for help.

“My brothers in Islam,” he said in a husky whisper. “My wife and children have not eaten in two days because I don’t have the means to support them. Kindly help me and Allah will bless you in this world and hereafter—Insha’Allah.”

Being lunch hour, he must have hoped that his Muslim brothers would understand his predicament and open their wallets to him.

But the congregation was unmoved by his appeal and kept busy in supplication.

For about a minute, the “beggar” stood in front of the seemingly unconcerned congregation confused, until the Imam asked him to step out and wait at the door where he would be lucky to receive some monetary tokens as the worshippers filed out of the mosque. 

Such scenes are common. A spot-check around various mosques in Nairobi reveals that many a “poor” people have turned to these worship centres to beg. Some even flock business premises or office blocks where philanthropic Muslims are known to operate from to either receive food rations or monetary handouts—for these people, begging has become a full time job.

But if there was ever a time Zakat-ul-Mal (alms-giving) was needed, this would be the time as economic hardships push more and more people, Muslims included, into poverty.

The question, therefore, is—is Zakat-ut-Mal achieving its purpose among Muslim communities?  This question is asked because there is a worrying trend where some Muslims are even abandoning Islam because of poverty—while others have resorted to illegal or immoral ventures just in order to eke out a living.

Ustadh Ali Ausat, a panelist on Iqra FM’s Bustani Ya Manufaa radio programme, acknowledges that poverty has become a big threat to the faith and steadfastness of many poor Muslims, blaming the exodus from Islam because of economic constraints to the fact that able Muslims have either abandoned paying Zakat-ul-Mal or perceive this third pillar of Islam as optional. 

He quotes the Quran: “Take, [O, Muhammad], from their wealth a charity by which you purify them and cause them increase, and invoke [Allah’s blessings] upon them. Indeed, your invocations are reassurance for them. And Allah is all Hearing and all Knowing.” Al-Tawba (9:103)

Many Muslim scholars have interpreted ‘charity’ in this verse to mean Zakat-ul-Mal, says Ustadh Ali, adding that apart from one fulfilling his obligation to Allah by paying alms, he or she purifies his possessions.

Zakat’ is the Arabic word for “purify.” According to Ustadh Ali, Zakat purifies one’s heart from miserliness and one’s wealth by giving out a portion of it. In return, one’s wealth grows abundantly by Allah’s blessings.

However, Muslims have somehow become tightfisted with Zakat-ul-Mal, thus denying millions of the poor and needy the duty of care that they deserve from their able brethren. 

Amina Abdallah, 45, runs a small business in Nairobi’s Kibera shanty dwelling where she cooks mahamri, bhajia and potato chips for sale to children in the area. She makes KSh1000 in a good month, which goes to paying her KSh1500 house rent per month for the single-roomed mud house; and fees for her two children Yassin, 12, and Twaha,3, who attend a makeshift school in the area.

“The money is never enough but if I can earn at least KSh5000 a month, I would be able to run my business comfortably and live on it,” says Amina.

In Kakamega, Fatuma Musalia Makokha, a widow aged 62, lives with her four children and five grandchildren in Musonga village. After her husband died in 2009, she is solely responsible for the family’s upkeep on  a KSh500 budget.

“That is all I depend on even in the toughest of times,” says the elderly mother.

If these two mothers wished, they would have joined the begging queues around local mosques. But they have demonstrated a willingness to do something for themselves.

“If Muslims paid their Zakat-ul-Mal the way it was intended to be paid, there would be no Muslims suffering in silence or going around begging,” says Ustadh Ali.

According to ustadh Yusuf Nasur, an Imam and community activist in Kibra, the problem with Muslims is misplaced priorities.

“If Muslim business people can pay millions of shillings of their income to the tax authorities, then they should surely be able to pay 2.5 per cent of their income to Zakat,” he argues.

Ustadh Yusuf adds: “Making people queue to receive KSh500 the way many wealthy Muslims do around Nairobi is not Zakat—that amounts to sadaka.  But there is a difference between sadaka and zakat and the two are not interchangeable.”

Moving forward, Ustadh Yusuf says that if Kenyan Muslims could establish an institution to collect and allocate Zakat the way it is prescribed in Islamic teachings, the community would have achieve a lot in  empowering the poor and needy thereby responding effectively to the challenge of poverty that is causing some Muslims to abandon their faith.

“Muslims, especially women and youth, have been forced to go to interest-charging financial institutions to seek loans for their businesses or putting up homes because they lack financial support from within Islam,” says Ustadh Yusuf. 

And this is why Muslims are not making any progress compared to their non-Muslim counterparts because of Allah’s displeasure with Muslims who associate themselves with interest-charging financial transactions.

However, there are some Muslims who give their Zakat to institutions that distribute it on their behalf. Abdulghafur, a Nairobi resident, says his Zakat goes to an Islamic institution whose identity he did not want revealed.  

He says that he chose to channel his Zakat to a credible institution because previously he would give individuals a substantial amount of money whose proper use he is not able to vouch for.  “Some people whom I gave Zakat have come back as beggars,” says Abdulghafur, adding that many of such people lack the capacity to handle substantial amounts of money or have no experience to run a successful business.

Young Muslim Association (YMA) is a widely known and respected institution that collects Zakat in Kenya. Abdullahi Wesamba, Youth and Daawah officer at YMA, says that they have been receiving Zakat-ul-Mal but not from many people.

  

“We collect Zakat-ut-Mal from only ten out of 100 people,” he says. “But we collect more Zakat-ul-Fitr during Ramadhan than we collect Zakat-ul-Mal in a year.”

The money collected is used to maintain an orphanage run by YMA in Garissa, building mosques and paying supplementary allowances for madrassa and Islamic Religious Education teachers.

In other parts of the world, Zakat-ul-Mal and sadaka have proved to be effective financial assistance institutions because of the way they are managed.

Zakat Foundation of American (ZFA), an Islamic charity organisation, has an active presence in western Kenya. According to Mohammed Wangusi, ZFA’s regional representative in East Africa, the organisation depends on Zakat and Sadaka collected from around the world and in turn used to empower poor communities locally and internationally.

“We give grants to self-sustaining projects and programmes aimed at improving social and economic lives of the most vulnerable and needy communities,” says Wangusi.

In view of the challenges facing poor Muslim communities in Kenya, there is need for Muslim scholars, Imams and media to campaign for both the material wellbeing of the faithful just the way they push for their spiritual wellbeing. For the material wellbeing of poor and needy Muslims, the proper management of Zakat cannot be gainsaid. 

Soruce- The New Dawn

Slum dwellers tipped on social, economic and environmental rights

BY AYUB SULEIMAN

Youth and women living in urban slums have been called upon to make use of affirmative action provisions of the constitution to improve their socio-economic status.  

A June 15 stakeholder forum in Nairobi’s Kibera Lindi informal settlement area was told that the new constitution has robust provisions through which the millions of slum dwellers in Kenya can improve their livelihood. 

For example, Article 42 of the constitution is geared towards, among other things, improving the sanitation conditions in slum dwellings. Article 42 states that; every person has the right to a clean and healthy environment which includes the right to have the environment protected for the benefit and future generations through legislative and other measures.  

In case the right specified in Article 42 is violated, one can invoke provisions of Article 70 (1) which holds that; if a person alleges that a right to a clean and healthy environment recognized and protected under Article 42 has been, is being or is likely to be denied, violated, infringed or threatened, the person may apply to a court for redress in addition to any other legal remedies that are available in respect to the same matter.

Pursuant to the foregoing, a court addressing an application brought under Article 70(1) may make any order, or give any directions, it considers appropriate:-

a. To prevent, stop or discontinue any act or omission that is harmful to the environment;

b. To compel any public officer to take measures to prevent or discontinue any act or omission that is harmful to the environment; or

c. To provide compensation for any victim of a violation of the right to a clean and healthy environment.

Apart from provisions of Article 42 whose effective application can help alleviate the poor sanitation conditions in slum areas, Article 43 also has robust provisions aimed at improving the socio-economic conditions of slum dwellers.

Article 43 seeks to guarantee economic and social rights; and provides that every person has the right:-

a. To the highest attainable standard of health, which includes the right to health care services, including reproductive health care; 
b. To accessible and adequate housing, and to reasonable standards of sanitation;

c. To be free from hunger, and to have adequate food of acceptable quality;

d. To clean and safe water in adequate quantities;

e. To social security; and

f. To education.

In view of the foregoing provisions, the Kibera Lindi forum acknowledged that both national and county governments have an obligation to promote and protect the rights stipulated in Articles 42 and 43.

In this regard, the forum cited the Nairobi County Government as the first port of call for Kibera residents when seeking the fulfillment of the economic, environmental and social rights necessary to improve their livelihoods. 

Source- The New Dawn.