Eldoret Street Children Recall Night of Horror

Eldoret street children recall night of horror

Sarah Kai, a 16-year-old street mother in Eldoret, was deep in slumber near Sosiani River when she was woken up by a big commotion.

“We were surrounded by many people and they warned us not to run away. They ordered us to board a waiting lorry. We were moved to different spots in town where street children stay until the lorry was full. We were then driven away to an unknown destination,” Kai said.

She is among the 250 urchins who were rounded up by Uasin Gishu county government officers on October 11 and ‘deported’ to their counties of origin.

The street families, who included mothers suckling their kids, were then dumped at Kochoria trading centre in Amagoro, Teso North sub-county.

“It was some kind of torture since there was no space in the lorry. We were packed like potatoes and there was no room to stretch our legs. It was worse for us with young children.”

According to the county government, they were sending the children to the counties they identified as their homes.

However, the street children have since returned to Eldoret town.

Martin Ngatia, 30, said they left Eldoret around 9pm. “After many hours of travelling, they told us to alight for a short call before continuing our journey. The driver then said the vehicle had run out of fuel… after a short while, two armed policemen boarded the lorry and drove away… they left us stranded yet it was still dark,” Ngatia said.

The group decided to sleep until morning while others trekked several kilometres to Kanduyi in Bungoma county.

“We slept until morning when the police came and interrogated us. We explained the whole scenario and were taken to the police station. Thereafter they brought us back to Eldoret,” Ngatia said.

Others who had trekked to Kanduyi asked for lifts from truck drivers heading to Eldoret.

Most of them said they have lived in Eldoret town all their lives and they know no other home.

“I think the county government doesn’t want us here and that is why they wanted to take us far. Some of us have their homes but far from this town. Why were those from Turkana or Kericho taken to Busia?” Wilson Achola, another street boy, said.

Sarah Kai says she came to Eldoret town in 2008 from Lokichar town in Turkana county.

Aged nine, she joined some people who were ferried by a lorry going to Kitale town.

“I have my parents and I know my home in Lokichar but poverty made me to run away from home. After reaching Kitale, we stayed in the streets for about a week and we started our journey to Eldoret town. That is how I ended up here,” she said.

Kai later cohabited with a street boy with whom they have a two-week-old boy, who is now being raised up at a children’s home.

“My ‘husband’ is helping the jua kali artisans here and he is paid peanuts. Since I am idle and I need to make ends meet, I go to the streets to beg. Eldoret has become my home,” Kai said.

Kevin Mwangu, 13, said both his parents were alive when he left his Trans Nzoia home five years ago.

He said his parents separated and his father married a second wife. “After my mom left our home, my father remarried and my stepmother mistreated me. That is why I ran way from home and moved to Kitale town,” he said.

He stayed in the streets of Kitale for about five months before he moved to Eldoret with four of his friends.

“We heard that Eldoret town was good and we could make money here. I didn’t want to go back home because I knew I would be mistreated. Since then no one has bothered to look for me,” he said.

Ngatia moved to Eldoret from Mai Mahiu after the death of his mother in 2007.

“We are only two boys in my family. My brother was a casual worker in Eldoret. After the death of my mother, I came with my uncle thinking my life will be better here,” Ngatia said.

After staying for two days with his brother in Eldoret, his uncle left for Mai Mahiu.

“Because he was a casual worker, it was rare to get money to sustain us and we always lacked food. That is when I decided to leave his house in Langas and come to the streets.”

Abigael Jeptoo is aged 14 and comes from Uasin Gishu county.

Her mother hails from West Pokot county but her parents live near Hill School in Eldoret town.

She studied at Penon Primary School until class seven.

“I was staying with my grandmother but when she died in 2012, I came to Eldoret where my parents live. Since they had no money to take me to school, I ran away to the streets,” she said.

“I don’t see any benefit of being in the streets and if I get someone to sponsor me, I would love to go back to school,” Jeptoo said.

Isaac Mudavadi and John Muli, aged 17 and 29 respectively, said they were born in Eldoret town.

“Both my mum and dad are with me here in the streets. I was born here and up to now, I have not understood why we were taken far from our home,” Mudavadi said.

Sheilah Chebet from Baringo county was among those ferried to Busia.

Busia county government was irked by the move to dump the street children in the county.

Busia governor Sospeter Ojaamong regretted the dumping of people to a county they don’t have homes.

“A decent way to settle children should have been followed… dumping is reminiscent of slavery,” Ojaamong said.

“Those who have been dumped here could be recruited into serious crimes network with catastrophic consequences,”Ojaamong said.

“Our county is open and willing to receive people but only in a structured way,” he said.

Ojaamong said instead of rounding up innocent Kenyans and relocating them, Uasin Gishu county should seek support from various government institutions and international agencies.

However, Uasin Gishu county defended itself, arguing that the street children were behind a spate of crimes in Eldoret town.

“The street families have been linked to several killings in the town, muggings, robbery, pickpocketing and vandalism of vehicles tyres, side mirrors among other criminal activities,” Deputy governor Daniel Chemno said.

“Many people have been complaining about them and we want to make this town secure. The same people who were pressuring us to ensure that the town’s security is beefed up are rushing to criticise us for taking the street children to their homes,” Chemno said.

Chemno said the right procedure of identifying the children’s counties of origin were followed.

“It was not a case of pick and dump but most of them have homes and they had run away and were unwilling to go back to school. They identified their homes and we took them to places near their homes,” Chemno said.

He said those with no known homes were taken to various children’s orphanages in the county.

“I find it very ridiculous for many people to complain of being robbed off their phones and belongings by the street urchins and now they pretend to be sympathetic,” he said.

Chemno said he understands the constitution provides that everybody has a right to live wherever he chooses.

“However, these are children and they should be guided by their parents. What we did is to connect them with their parents,” he said.

Uasin Gishu deputy county commissioner Christopher Wanjahu said they were not involved in the plan to repatriate the children.

“We were not involved in the plans… we only learned it through the media,” Wanjahu said.

Orphans Separated Children Assessment Related (Oscar) organisation took the children to their health clinic in Eldoret and has been treating them. They have also provided them with clothes.

John Ayieko, a social worker at the clinic, said they have been offering the children treatment free of charge. The services offered include HIV/Aids counselling and pregnancy and child protection.

“We visit them wherever they are to ensure that their health is well taken care of. They need to live in good conditions and the government should really think about resettling street families,” Ayieko said.

BY STANLEY MAGUT
Magut, Stanley. "Eldoret Street Children Recall Night of Horror." The Star. The Star, 21 Oct. 2015. Web. 22 Oct. 2015.

http://www.the-star.co.ke/news/eldoret-street-children-recall-night-horror

This is a problem not only in Kenya but throughout Africa. Although this was a drastic and unapproved act this movement is an outcry to the government/ authority to do something about the situation in Eldoret. As the author of this article is Kenyan it is easy for him to envision the situation these children are in. He is accustomed to poverty and knows the serious issues associated with it. Although I agree loading everyone in a truck to be deported isn't the answer, I do think the government shouldn't leave this situation. They shouldn't ignore the fact that this causes issues not only for street kids but also for the citizens being affected by them.