Government dignitaries and provincial authorities, journalists, passers-by, curious onlookers, the jobless and children in school uniform milled about the two kilometre stretch of tarmacked road leading into Kibera; the most populous informal settlement in sub-saharan Africa.

The Prime Minister, Raila Odinga, who is also the Member of Parliament for Lang'ata Constituency was scheduled to arrive at 9:30am. I came an hour early because I heard he was a stickler for time. But I digress. 

I watched as residents packed their belongings (like rat packs, they carried more than their new homes would accommodate). I was struck by how helpful they all were: surprised because Kibera was a war zone just a few years ago during the 2007 post-election violence. There was no indication of any tension: political or ethnic. 

I watched too as photographers followed people around clicking away. Video journalists manuevered through the crowd to capture excited Kibera residents as their tripods stood idly by under the watchful eye of their reporters looking on.

Turns out the PM was not really particular on time, as he showed up about three hours later. A frenzie ensued as journalists scrambled to interview the PM and members of his entourage comprising the minister for housing Soita Shitanda, his assistant Margaret Wanjiru, the Mayor of the City of Nairobi Geoffry Majiwa and a host of other government and private dignitaries. Journalists keen on getting the pictures and sound bytes surged forward and so did the crowd. Reporters speedily scribbled on their notebooks shifting their gaze from each speaker to their writing pads at various intervals. As the reporters continued to surge forward, the PM's ecurity pushed back. The Administration Police unable to form a security ring around them settled to looking on helplessly with guns in hand pointing downward.

Song and dance pierced the air as the restless crowd milled around the cleared earth. The dignitaries sat comfortably in tents, drinking bottled water as the slum dwellers and journalists stood in the blazing sun looking on.

Trucks and buses ferried luggage and people in that order to and from the old to the new houses. Clouds of dust rose in the air blowing aimlessly.

The mood on the ground was varied. Some residents were estatic about the change while others were skeptical about the benefits of the move. There were no schools in close proximity of the new homes. I talked to one parent who was concerned about the distance to the nearest school. She complained that her children would have to walk for long before getting to school. Another parent was worried about transferring his children to another school in the middle of the school term. With some children sitting for national examinations (KCPE) in November, parents felt they could not afford to change schools so late in their final years in high school. 

The new residents expressed fear of a cholera outbreak and other water-borne diseases citing irregular water supply and the potential of unsanitary habits. 

Many Kibera residents earn a living doing manual work, setting up small businesses or housework. Moving to the new facilities poses a risk to such livelihoods as they are interdependent on each other. How will the fish seller make money if she is not allowed to prepare her fish in the vicinity of the new houses? Where will the charcoal seller earn his living to feed his family? The people surpass the number of jobs available. Employment and opportunities for entrepreuners will have to take hold before the new residence degenerate to illegal activities. 

While the government assures Kibera residents of a better life, only time will tell if this pilot project will be successful and if it can be modeled around the country. 

However, skeptics argue that the landlords from the vacated shanties could incite other Kibera residents from moving into the adjacent high rise flats for fear of loosing their land and means of livelihood. This is the case the Nubian Community in Kibera finds itself. They have been traced to Kibera since colonial Kenya. They have social systems and traditions that enable them cohabit with other communities on what they say is their land. Will the Government manage to come up with a solution that leaves them intact?

Is this the start of upgrading projects that will be seen to the end in various parts of the country? Will this, I dare ask, be a stepping stone to larger land reforms in Kenya?

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