This archive report was first published on 3 August 2020.
On August 3, 2020, a Twitter campaign sparked a heated debate about poverty in Kenya, with the hashtag #WhoIsPOOR trending throughout the day.
Nairobi, the country's economic hub, contributes over 60% of Kenya's GDP, yet it remains the poorest county in the Republic of Kenya. Shockingly, 50% of Nairobi's population, approximately 2 million people, live in slums, lacking basic necessities like water, shelter, toilets, and good roads.
Netizens took to Twitter to express their outrage, highlighting the stark contrast between the lives of Nairobi's residents and those in other parts of the country. For instance, a herder in North Eastern Kenya receives more bursary for their children and owns a herd of camels, while an average Nairobian struggles to make ends meet.
One concerned citizen noted that while Members of Parliament (MPs) from Mt. Kenya struggle to divide bursaries among many needy students, who ultimately receive as little as KES 2,000, MPs from North Eastern and Lamu struggle to find students to give bursaries to and sponsor others to attend college abroad.
According to a tweet by Kitsuru Oligarch, 'Close to 70% of Nairobians live in informal settlements. Slums are all over, from Kibera, Mathare, Mukuru, Kawangware, etc. The residents grapple with rent, food, fare to work, electricity, and water bills. In North Eastern, there's no slum. Everyone owns a piece of land.'
Another tweet by Gitobu Kiogora highlighted the inequality in Nairobi, stating, 'Between an individual who owns a caravan of camels and the one who wakes up every day from Kibera or any informal settlement in Nairobi to Industrial area daily to earn only KES 300 per day! Who is marginalized? Who is disadvantaged?'
Figures from the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) reveal that the Gini coefficient, a measure of income inequality, is 0.59 in Nairobi, compared to 0.38 in rural areas. This suggests that inequality in cities is high and rising.
Despite contributing 30% to the GDP growth and 60% of tax receipts, Nairobi receives KES 15 billion in shareable revenue, while a county like Mandera, which contributes 0.5% to the GDP growth, receives KES 12 billion in shareable revenue.
As one Twitter user pointed out, 'A Mr. Omondi in Nairobi has a juakali stall that feeds his family and solely funds all their needs. Abdul in Eldas has 40 camels, 200 acres of land, and 2000 goats. By Kenyan standards, Abdul is marginalized while Omondi is rich.'
These tweets and others sparked a heated debate about poverty in Kenya, with many questioning who is truly marginalized and disadvantaged.
