Stampede in Kibra as hundreds scramble for food

Dozens of people were injured in Kibra on Friday after an intense struggle to acquire foodstuffs that were being donated in the area.

They had to be rushed to hospital for medical care.

Good Samaritans had given donations of foodstuffs through the office of the deputy commissioner.

This was to cushion vulnerable families against hunger following stringent measures effected by the government in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.

Most Kenyans have been urged to work from home and there is a daily curfew from 7pm to 5am which has reportedly reduced opportunities for work for those living in slums.

In an investigative feature aired on Citizen TV last week, one woman revealed how she would leave her home in Kibra at 6am in search of laundry work.

However, she would return in the evening with no money or food as most people remained confined in their houses.

The spread of coronavirus has greatly disrupted the lives of such women who live in Nairobi’s informal settlements.

On Friday, questions were abound over the manner in which the food distribution was carried out with no guidelines for social distance.