Residents of informal settlements in Kisumu on Thursday demonstrated along the streets of Kisumu and camped at the office of Kisumu County governor Jack Ranguma to demand better services.
The residents drawn from Obunga, Kaloleni, Bandani, Manyatta, and Nyalenda slums said they pay rates to the county government but do not receiving better services.
Led by Eliasa Osanya who is the chairman Kisumu Informal Settlements Network, they said people living in the slums are grappling with problems of improper housing, garbage management, poor health, poor sanitation and lack of clean water.
“We need proper services, why are our areas being neglected in terms of development, are we not paying taxes,” said Osanya.
Osanya said the population at the slums continue to increase every day, yet there are no proper measures put in place by the county to address the needs of the residents.
While reading a petition at the gate of Prosperity House, Osanya said they have tried every means to have their problems addressed but nothing has been done so far.
“We have visited the offices of our elected leaders, we have gone to the office of city manager but no action has been taken. We decided to visit Ranguma as our governor so that he can tell us whether we are part of Kisumu or not,” he said.
The gate to Prosperity House was closed by police officers who later allowed only three officials to walk into the governor's office to hand over the petition.