Mukuru is a collection of

slums A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty. The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily in ...

in the city of

Nairobi Nairobi is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Kenya. The city lies in the south-central part of Kenya, at an elevation of . The name is derived from the Maasai language, Maasai phrase , which translates to 'place of cool waters', a ...

. It is approximately south of the

central business district A central business district (CBD) is the Commerce, commercial and business center of a city. It contains commercial space and offices, and in larger cities will often be described as a financial district. Geographically, it often coincides wit ...

of Nairobi. It is one of the largest slums in Nairobi. It stretches along the

– Ngong River, situated on waste lands in the industrial area of the city between the Outering Ring Road, North Airport Road and Mombasa Road. Mukuru is among other major slums in Nairobi such:

Korogocho Korogocho is one of the largest slum neighbourhoods of Nairobi, Kenya. Home to 150,000 to 200,000 people pressed into 1.5 square kilometres, northeast of the city centre, Korogocho was founded as a shanty town on the then outskirts of the city.

Kibera Kibera (Kinubi language, Kinubi: ''Forest'' or ''Jungle'') is a division and neighbourhood of Nairobi, Kenya, from the city centre. Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi, and also the largest urban slum in all of Africa. The 2009 Kenya Popul ...

and

Mathare Mathare is a collection of slums in Nairobi with a population of approximately 500,000 people; the population of Mathare Valley alone, the oldest of the slums that make up Mathare, is 180,000 people. Mathare is the home of football (soccer), foot ...

. Mukuru comprises the Mukuru kwa Reuben, Mukuru kwa Njenga, Viwandani, Mariguini, Fuata Nyayo and Kayaba villages.

Overview

Located approximately south of the Nairobi CBD, Mukuru slums are predominantly a

low-income Poverty is a state or condition in which an individual lacks the financial resources and essentials for a basic standard of living. Poverty can have diverse

informal settlement. It consists of approximately thirty villages: Kwa Njenga, Kwa Ruben, Mariguini, Fuata Nyayo and Kayaba. The area sits south of the Viwandani and Industrial Area. The area earliest inhabitants were labourers from the nearby Industrial Area factories who made makeshifts mainly made by corrugated iron shacks. Some of the area that Mukuru slums sits on was initially a quarry that was exploited and was never rehabilitated. Mukuru slums as any other slum in the world has been faced by challenges including crime, drug abuse, prostitution. In the slums, whole families survive in tiny one-roomed

corrugated iron Corrugated galvanised iron (CGI) or steel, colloquially corrugated iron (near universal), wriggly tin (taken from UK military slang), pailing (in Caribbean English), corrugated sheet metal (in North America), zinc (in Cyprus and Nigeria) or ...

shacks. Very few homes have access to electricity and up to twenty families might share a communal water tap and

latrine A latrine is a toilet or an even simpler facility that is used as a toilet within a sanitation system. For example, it can be a communal trench in the earth in a camp to be used as emergency sanitation, a hole in the ground ( pit latrine), or ...

. The area is considered unsafe due to the

air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...

caused by

incineration Incineration is a waste treatment process that involves the combustion of substances contained in waste materials. Industrial plants for waste incineration are commonly referred to as waste-to-energy facilities. Incineration and other high ...

of varied waste, as well as the stench from the unauthorised

landfill A landfill is a site for the disposal of waste materials. It is the oldest and most common form of waste disposal, although the systematic burial of waste with daily, intermediate and final covers only began in the 1940s. In the past, waste was ...

s in the slums. Fires are also common and containing them has always been a subject of debate; mainly because the makeshifts are built close to one another and their narrow or no alleys between them. The slums have a high

prevalence In epidemiology, prevalence is the proportion of a particular population found to be affected by a medical condition (typically a disease or a risk factor such as smoking or seatbelt use) at a specific time. It is derived by comparing the number o ...

respiratory diseases Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathology, pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in Breathing, air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the t ...

Malaria Malaria is a Mosquito-borne disease, mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects vertebrates and ''Anopheles'' mosquitoes. Human malaria causes Signs and symptoms, symptoms that typically include fever, Fatigue (medical), fatigue, vomitin ...

HIV AIDS The human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a preventable disease. It can ...

and

waterborne disease Waterborne diseases are conditions (meaning adverse effects on human health, such as death, disability, illness or disorders) caused by pathogenic micro-organisms that are transmitted by water. These diseases can be spread while bathing, washing ...

s. The slums were earmarked areas more at risk in the spread of the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

. In 2017, among other slum areas in Nairobi, Mukuru was declared a Special Planning Area.

Slum upgrading Slum upgrading is an integrated approach that aims to turn around downward trends in an area. These downward trends can be legal (land tenure), physical (infrastructure), social (crime or education, for example) or economic." The main objective ...

, initiated by the government, is an effort to provide better housing to the slum residents. Known as the Mukuru Affordable Housing, will be actualised on a 55-acre land with 15,000 housing units. Simplified sewer system is set to tackle the decades-long problem of open sewers.

Notable people

Charlot Magayi and her daughter lived here. She is CEO of Mukuru Clean Stoves and a winner of the 2022 Earthshot Prize.

References

{{Nairobi, state=collapsed Shanty towns in Kenya Suburbs of Nairobi Squatting in Kenya

Overview

Notable people

See also

References