Kibera is the largest slum in Nairobi city. Very few people know about the history of Kibera. Below are historical findings you should know about Kibera before it turned into the well-known slums.
Kibera is coined from a Nubian word 'Kibra' which refers to Jungle/Forest. Kibera was once a dense forest before the British Government took over Kenya and turned it into a military camp for the Nubian soldiers who came from Sudan and participated in World War I.
Kibera was then officially made a military reserve for Nubian soldiers in 1918 with shamba passes which were temporary licenses for plots of land where they lived with their families.
The three-soldier-statue on Kenyatta Avenue represent the brave Nubian soldiers. The writings on the statue are Arabic military units which were used in identification by classified Arabic numbers. The word LINE SABA was used to be called LINE SHANBAHA.
Since the rates offered on housing are very affordable by many people, the owners have rented their property to significantly high numbers of tenants than legal requirements.
This has greatly contributed rapid growth of population within the region thus, resulting in the growth of Slums since the early 1970s.