
Informal settlement residents joined together with Amnesty International to demand an end to forced evictions at the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights. (c) Madi Keita/Amnesty International
By Francis Makanda Sakwa, Amnesty International Kenya ‘Gender Defender’ and resident of Mathare slum, Nairobi
I live in an informal settlement. I work, pay taxes, and use the money I earn to raise my children and support my family. Mine is a voice that isn’t often printed in my country’s newspapers, or heard by my Government. But did you know that in sub-Saharan Africa three out of every four people living in a city or town live in a slum, like me? That is a staggering statistic: three-quarters – a clear majority – of Africa’s urban people live in homes that are built without planning or other permission. This is a massive hidden crisis for our cities and our governments.
Us ordinary Kenyans living in informal settlements face many challenges. The authorities fail to adequately provide us with essential services, such as water, sewers, roads, schools, health clinics and police posts. But the biggest violation of our human rights we face is the threat of forced evictions.
In early November, supported by Amnesty International, I travelled with slum dwellers from Ghana, Nigeria, Egypt, Zimbabwe and Chad to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights in The Gambia. We went united to ask for help in demanding an immediate end to forced evictions in Africa. Continue reading ‘Slum residents address Africa’s human rights body to demand end to forced evictions’




