Madalyn Moore

October 19, 2022

SSO 285 75

Midterm Assignment

The Nubians

There are approximately ten million stateless individuals in the world. Being defined as

“stateless” not only means being denied a nationality, but also being denied basic human rights.

Of the ten million, there is a community of 100,000 people known as the Nubians who have been

fighting for basic citizenship and property rights for the past 150 years. Today, the Nubians have

been forced to live in one of the largest slums on Earth.

The Nubian community is settled in Kibera, Kenya; however, the Nubians are originally

from the Nuba Mountains, which is located in present-day central Sudan. The Nubians were first

brought to Kibera in the 1850’s by the British colonial army. The British forced the Nubians to

fight with them when first invading Kenya, a country known for its rich resources. At that time,

the Nubians were loyal to the British and were promised to be provided with “fertile land and

enough space for a large family” upon the end of the war (Kohn, 2010). It was not until 1950 that

the Nubian struggle for independence and exclusion started.

After the British gained control of Kenya, “the Nubians in Kibera asked to be repatriated

to Sudan, a request which was repeated [for years], and consistently refused” (Kohn, 2010).

Therefore, the Nubian soldiers and their families became the first generation to be forced to settle

in Kibera. Along with refusing to allow the Nubians to return to their homeland in Sudan, the

British also took away the Nubians right to an education. The British purposefully refused to

educate the Nubians because they knew that, with an education, the Nubians would “agitate for
their rights” (Akcay, 2014). Ultimately, the Nubians were only educated enough to understand

simple military commands, so that the British could keep their control.

Forced to remain in Kibera, the Nubians began to gain respect for those native to Africa

fighting the British for their independence. The Nubians admired the Africans so much that they

“refused to join forces with the British [and] even resigned from their jobs to show their support”

(Akcay, 2014). In response, the British denied the Nubians title deeds, leaving them homeless yet

unable to leave Kibera. In 1964, the Kenyans gained independence from Britain with the help of

the Nubians; however, the Nubians’ struggles were just beginning.

With the election of a new Kenyan president, one who did not care to respect the Nubians

for their help, the discrimination against the Nubian community only grew. As of today, the

Nubians living in Kibera are still denied ownership of property and citizenship. The Kenyans do

not refer to the Nubians as Kenyan citizens even though the Nubians living there are fifth or

sixth generations and have no correspondence with the native land of Sudan; all they know is

Kibera – a land that rejects them. The Kenyan government insists that the Nubians are squatters

on government land, denying their property rights. In addition to not being allowed to own land,

the Nubians are also denied utilities and/or public services (Mbagathi, 2011). Today, the Kenyan

government is actively evicting members of the Nubian community in Kibera in an attempt to

“‘upgrade’ the slums [refusing] to recognize the Nubian’s rights to the area” (Akcay, 2014). The

Ministry of Housing upgrading project imposed hefty fines on those Nubians who were not yet

evicted resulting in further poverty and homelessness (Akcay, 2014).

Citizenship has been made almost unachievable for the Nubian population in Kenya due

to their ethnic and religious origins. They are forced to go through a “long and complex vetting

procedure to obtain the ID card that is necessary for recognition of their citizenship and essential
for everyday life” (Mbagathi, 2011). For a Nubian to be able to obtain an identification card, they

must be able to provide identification cards of their parents and grandparents, stand before a

committee of elders to take an oath, and pay a hefty fee to the Magistrate (Mbagathi, 2011). Even

if the Nubians do somehow have all the information needed to obtain the identification card, the

process of obtaining one is very slow and the card may never truly be attained. Without the

identification card, Nubians are left stateless, unable to travel, marry, vote, attend school, have

official employment, and obtain property and health care (Mbagathi, 2011). Those Nubians who

were lucky enough to obtain Kenyan identification still live in a state of constant uncertainty

because their citizenship is questioned every time they must renew their documentation. Without

proper identification, the Nubians are condemned to live a life in poverty.

Beginning in 1997, Kenyans began moving into Kibera alongside the Nubians. This

caused inter-ethnic clashes causing many people to lose their property and lives (Akcay, 2014).

The Kenyans burned down and destroyed Nubian settlements showing their hatred towards the

stateless community. Kibera is filled with violence, crime, social exclusion, disease and poverty.

Approximately only 30% of Nubians are reported as employed, and 40% of the Nubian

population reports that the household income is only 60 USD per month (Kohn, 2010). Water is

only supplied two days a week in Kibera leaving the population dehydrated and prone to

developing sickness due to the lack of hygiene. There is also only one medical clinic, no formal

police station and no proper drainage system (Kohn, 2010). The Nubians are desperate for an

authoritative figure that recognizes their role in Kenyan independence and is willing to fight to

obtain the basic human rights that they have been denied for generations.

Recently, the Open Society Justice Initiative has teamed up with the Institute for Human

Rights and Development in Africa (IHDRA) and the Centre for Minority Rights Development
(CEMIRIDE) to attempt to gather enough evidence to challenge the various human rights

violations on behalf of the Nubians living in Kibera (Kohn, 2010). In total, the Justice Initiative

along with its partners have produced six main arguments to present to the African Commission

on Human and Peoples’ Rights. These arguments include discrimination in access to nationality,

arbitrary depreivation of nationality, prohibition of statelessness, breach of respect for property

rights, consequential violations, and degrading treatment (Kohn, 2010). The xenophobia the

Kenyans feel toward the Nubians has led to a long history of discimination and stripping of basic

human rights. To conclude, the fear and prejudice of the Nubians is ultimately the result of the

government’s failure to create equal opportunity for the Nubians, and it will be due to the help of

outside sources that the Nubians may someday have the chance to experience a life without

uncertainty and be granted their human rights that they deserve.

 References

Akcay, A. S. (2014, January 13). Nubians still stateless in Kenya after 150 years. Anadolu

Ajansı. Retrieved October 23, 2022, from

https://www.aa.com.tr/en/archive/nubians-still-stateless-in-kenya-after-150-years/190876

Kohn, S. (2010, September 8). The Nubian Predicament: A story about colonial legacy,

discrimination, and statelessness. Open Society Justice Initiative. Retrieved October 23,

2022, from

https://www.justiceinitiative.org/voices/nubian-predicament-story-about-colonial-legacy-

discrimination-and-statelessness

Mbagathi, N. (2011). Nubian community in Kenya v. Kenya. Open Society Justice Initiative.

(n.d.). Retrieved October 23, 2022, from

https://www.justiceinitiative.org/litigation/nubian-community-kenya-v-kenya