The Effects of Post-Election Violence on Kenya’s Slums
IRIN Africa reports that residents of slums have been experiencing rampant crime and destitution as a result of ethnic conflict sparked by the recent elections in Kenya. An article entitled “Arson, riots leave slum dwellers destitute” relates the experience of several slum residents in Nairobi. City neighborhoods with high rates of poverty are particularly vulnerable during political unrest and other crises, a problem that must be addressed in establishing sound urban development initiatives.
Photo of Red Cross workers in Nairobi’s Mathare slums appears on the IRIN website
Quoted from an article in IRIN, titled “Slum-dwellers hit hard by post-election crisis”: The majority of the city’s inhabitants live in its sprawling slums and it is this impoverished population, together with tens of thousands of displaced people in western Kenya, that has borne the brunt of the violence and disruption unleashed in the wake of the 27 December presidential and parliamentary elections.