Sanitation continues to be the biggest challenge Kibera faces as it is the largest slum area in Kenya and Africa as a continent.
Fortunately, charity organisations have shown their concern towards the area residents by putting up public toilets to do away with the legendary 'flying toilets'. The public amenities were expected to be a source of hope for the slum dwellers but dishearteningly, it has become a hub of rape and sexual molestation.
One of the female residents of the area, Rebecca Nduku, revealed how dreadful it is for women to use the public toilets when darkness engulfs the land. She said the toilets harbour sex pests and rapists who are armed with weapons.
Nduku, who is a mother of three, painfully recounts an experience she went through after she visited the public facility at 7.30pm only to be manhandled and dragged to a nearby secluded room where she was gang-raped by five men in turns. She says her friends had always warned her against using the toilets but she neglected the pleas since she could visibly see a huge number of people on their daily chores, a fact that gave her courage.
The mother of three said she has lived not being certain of whether to blame God for the misfortune or herself for not heeding advice from friends. The unfortunate ordeal left her HIV positive and she says she is yet to come to terms with the inhumane experience.
However, Nduku blames the county government of Nairobi for failing to include slum areas in urban planning. She pointed out that if they actually did these, then incidences like the one she underwent would never be heard of.