Confined, confused and cornered: Lessons from Kibra’s relief tragedy

The chaos and deaths that attended a shambolic attempt to distribute relief food in Nairobi’s Kibra slum should not have happened.

That children, a vulnerable group, were trampled underfoot calls us to order, organisation and planning to avoid a repeat.

The curfew and containment are not coming to an end soon, even as the suffering they have wrought exacts a painful toll on Kenyans.

Therefore, if the government, politicians, charities and civil society are going to distribute relief supplies, they must avoid chaos, injuries or deaths.

This is especially because there are many people who are deprived, frustrated and angry. They live hand-to-mouth but cannot now earn their daily wages and fend for themselves and their families.

They can only hold on a little longer if they will get regular supplies. Many are looking forward to food being made available.

That is a powerful and emotional mobiliser and incentive to bring out throngs to a venue; keep them excited or agitated, and unleash ululations of appreciation or ugly howls of anger and hunger.

The first guideline of distribution should be that nobody will be left out and nobody will be passed by. The motto “one for all, and all for one” should rule to ensure that the aged, sick, infirm and those living alone are not forgotten.

COUNTIES

The second guideline should be that people will be called for supplies only when planned and organised handovers are certain, when queues will belong to who and for what supplies, entries and exits will be clear, and, crucially, what number of people a given venue will serve.

Prior decisions will be made about vulnerable groups and about whether groups of five, 10 or 15 will be given bales, bags or pallets, and asked to share.

Alternatively, old people could be asked to go for their supplies between 9am and 11am. They would be followed by pregnant women or people with disabilities.

And the last group on that day could take its place in the queue in the afternoon, but with all bearing in mind curfew time. A group will help (police) keep order and ensure there is no lapse.

Brutes, who believe their mendacity should earn them supplies, could take advantage of lapses to overrun facilities.

Therefore, procuring food is the easier bit, the hard work entails handing the provisions over, and ensuring all deserving people get a fair share.

So, what’s the point of departure? I think it should be the devolved governments. They were created to take services closer, and quicker, to the people.

COLLABORATION

Therefore, a ward representative, alias member of county assembly (MCA), can be tapped to organise distribution in her constituency.

MCAs can swiftly turn their networks for political organisation and mobilisation into channels for delivering relief supplies to residents.

And by keeping the networks local, large gatherings can be avoided and social distancing enforced.

Executive committees that organise people to achieve the development agendas of counties, can be tapped too. If such committees can provide a formula for orderly and efficient delivery of food to doorsteps and cut out gatherings, that will be a game changer.

(By the way, some MPs have bought and branded foodstuff, sanitisers and water tanks. Surely they can deliver them at doorsteps. Yes, door-to-door delivery will earn them support and put them in good stead for re-election.)

Tapping ward representatives and executive teams does not mean sidelining the local administration. Security remains the remit of the administration which must be kept in the loop.

EFFECTIVE STRATEGIES

That says MCAs, County Executive teams and the administration can work in tandem to deliver relief supplies.

Last, officials from devolved and national governments cannot have failed to notice the simmering desperation and anger among Kibra’s youth on that fateful day. Confined, confused and cornered, they will resort to crime to survive.

The most important issue in Kenya today, for which a presidential task force should be designing strategies to be effected post-corona lockdown, is youth unemployment.

It is the creation of wealth and jobs for youths. It is the development of entrepreneurship and manufacturing.

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Their law and ass….

Lawmakers James Orengo and Junet Mohamed, Cabinet Secretary Eugene Wamalwa, powerman Raila Odinga and presidential pal David Murathe flouted the Nairobi Covid-19 travel ban to rendezvous with organised labour boss Francis Atwoli in his Kajiado County residence. Political skulduggery is essential service!

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