Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja faces a major battle to mop up street families from the central business district (CBD).

His challenge comes after Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) approved a motion compelling Sakaja to evict the street families by January.

On Tuesday, Deputy Minority Leader Esther Chege triggered an animated debate in the House when she led her colleagues in passing the motion to remove all street families from the city centre within a month.

A 2019 census report shows there were about 15,337 street families in Nairobi by then.

Chege, also the Nairobi South MCA, wants the families rounded up and either taken for rehabilitation or sent back to their counties and countries of origin.

The 2019 census established that out of the 46,639 street families countrywide, Nairobi led with 15,337, Mombasa (7,529), Kisumu (2,746), Uasin Gishu (2,147) and Nakuru (2,005).

It was conducted by Kenya Bureau of Statistics in conjunction with Street Families Rehabilitation Trust Fund and other stakeholders. Chege said almost three quarters of street families in the CBD are foreigners from either neighbouring countries or counties.

“The most heart-wrenching aspect of it is that the issue has been commercialised by some people and organisations who are taking advantage of these people’s fate to make money. Some of these beggars are dropped off in the morning and picked up by individuals in the evening,” he said.

The South B lawmaker blamed the street children for increased cases of muggings, pick-pocketing and snatching items from members of the public. She also says Nairobi has witnessed a high surge in the number of street families from other counties.

While Chege wants all foreign members of street families taken back to their respective counties or countries of origin, she wants Sakaja, in liaison with the national government to construct a rehabilitation center for street children and families to bring order and sanity in the city.

According Chege, Sakaja should remove all street families and children living on city streets purporting to be involved in various socio-economic activities.

She called on the county government to fast track the construction of the Ruai Street Children Rehabilitation Centre to rehabilitate street families after they are moved from the streets.

Construction of the facility was mooted in 2005 by the then Nairobi City Council at a cost of Sh126 million as a home where all the children would be relocated to, rehabilitated, educated and reintegrated back into society. Facility was to have was to have a school, a recovery unit and a playground for the children as well a modern vocational and training centre to teach practical courses.

Recreational facilities

A football pitch, basketball court and an indoor games arena were some of the planned recreational facilities.

Upon completion, the centre was to accommodate 3,000 street children and offer pre-primary, primary and secondary education. Construction of the centre ended on the drawing sketches.

“The county should fast-track the construction and equipment of the Ruai Street Children Rehabilitation Centre. This will ensure a better life for the families,” Chege stated. The legislator says the street families and children are vulnerable as they are exposed to harm and exploitation.

“It is quite disturbing that we even see the children begging, hawking, something that deprives them of their basic rights. Let them be apprehended and directed to Ruai upon expiry of the one-month notice to the county,” she added.

Chege also says a development policy should be made to deter the exploitation of street children and promote their enrolment in schools forthwith.

Chege wants the rehabilitation process modelled along that initiated during the reign of the late President Mwai Kibaki that was initiated by then Vice-President and Home Affairs Minister Moody Awori. During the time, street families were rounded up and either taken to the National Youth Service for special training or at various social halls in Bahati, Ruai and Kaloleni among others for rehabilitation.

Supporting the motion, Highrise-Makina MCA Kennedy Oyugi said a one-month notice is too long since the matter should be dealt with quickly.

Further, the Assembly called on different counties and neighbouring countries to take back some of the children from their jurisdictions who have migrated to Nairobi for begging purposes.

“Waithera has indicated that a one-month notice should be given and according to me, that’s very long. This is an issue that should be dealt with quickly as it will be good seeing the children unite with their families,” Oyugi stated.

Lindi MCA Samson Ochieng called on wives to allow their husbands to take back home their children born out of wedlock and have moved to the streets. The MCA claimed that some of the children were forced to move to the streets after being rejected by their stepmothers. “One thing we must admit is that some of our wives chase away children sired out of wedlock. I urge them to allow them back to reduce the numbers on the streets,” Ochieng said.