Daniel Orogo
Kenya
I am Daniel Orogo, a young politician and future policy leader from Kenya. I plan to vie for the Member of Parliament for Kibra Constituency position in the 2027 General elections. Raised in the Kibera slums, my late father was a motor vehicle mechanic who owned a small garage in Kibera’s Fort Jesus area. He depended on a meagre income from casual contracts for repair or motor vehicle services. Occasionally, when the schools were closed, my dad would insist that I spend time in the garage with him and occasionally invite me to some of the government offices to follow up on the delay of his payments.
On one occasion, I accompanied my father to the Ministry of Health, Afya. While waiting on the bench, I could hear altercations and quarrels, possibly some big guy or senior officials reprimanding my dad for following up on his pay. With a sad face coming out of the office, my dad signalled that we had left and spoke no word on the way home. He sank into deep thoughts with a vivid expression on his face. A condition may have been attached for bribery to pay him his dues.
Why This Matters
My personal experiences and my family's hardships have fueled my passion for political leadership. Having seen firsthand how systemic corruption and neglect can devastate families and communities. For instance, Kibera has countable sanitation blocks in a population of about half a million residents. Public toilets and sanitation blocks initially constructed by the government meant for the residents for free through corrupted means have been handed over to private owners who have levied fees, becoming unavailable and unaffordable to many poor residents, leading to open defecation.
Employment opportunities meant for youth have been actioned by cartels acting as a proxy for well-established politicians, leading to massive unemployment and inequalities in the Slums.
Over 80 Percent of Kibera Residents are informal workers, with the majority of men walking long hours to manual labour in the industrial areas of Nairobi. At the same time, Women offer casual labour in the posh neighbourhoods in the Lavington or Kilimani areas of Nairobi, with meagre earnings from either casual or manual labour estimated to be less than dollars a day, residence struggle to send children to school, afford one meal a day and not able to pay or access quality health care services.
Kibera Ni Kwetu Movement
This journey is not just about me; it’s about every child in Kibera who dreams of a better future, every parent who works tirelessly to provide, and every individual who believes in the possibility of change.
The 2018 collective action against illegal and forced evictions of citizens and people doing business along the Railway line serves as a reminder that no system or government can perpetuate impunity and injustice against a united community. When the Government of Kenya, through the Ministry of Transport and Kenya Railway, issued an Eviction notice for 4500 persons, including vendors, mechanics, informal schools, markets and shelters, the community of Kibera trusted my leadership through the Langata Youth Network, which embarked on several court injunctions, petitions to the Donor( the World Bank Group) and community dialogues with stakeholders and many other advocacy measures that eventually led peaceful resettlement of about 4000 Project affected persons. The community stood behind my leadership, which led to the eventual triumph of the peaceful resettlement of residents to the newly constructed units instead of previous plans for illegal and forceful evictions.
Why Now
Over 50 years after the slum's emergence, generation after generation, Kibra remains one of the largest informal settlements in the region and the world. Kibra faces many social, political, and economic challenges, namely frequent cases of Crime, inadequate and poor housing, lack of access to essential health and quality education, unemployment and underemployment, etc.
Despite the challenges identified, strong evidence shows that whenever the residents make correct choices in the ballot by electing ethical and people-centred leaders, they enjoy a period of servant leadership and timely service delivery. The story of the late Hon. Kenneth Okoth, the former Member of Parliament for Kibra ( 2013-2019), proves this.
More recently, in 2019, I vied for the Kibra Member of Parliament by-elections position after the death of then-Member of Parliament Hon Kenneth Okoth. As an aspirant with the Jubilee Party, I emerged in fourth position, 4 out of 9 candidates, in the nomination exercise conducted by the Party's National Elections Board. From the political party nomination exercise, I learned the political parties' significance for the voters. Other lessons I carried from the nomination exercise were the need for an aspirant or a candidate to familiarise political party procedures and mobilise adequate resources for campaigns.
Despite not making it for the Kibra by-elections, I still firmly believe that the election is not an event but a process. I have placed my best foot forward, and persistent and sustained engagement with the people of Kibera will eventually yield better returns on the ballot.
Additionally, the upcoming 2027 General Elections present a pivotal opportunity for citizens to elect leaders who represent the people, understand our struggles, and are committed to fighting for our rights and well-being.
I envision a Kibra where:
The incident between government officials and my father at the Ministry of Health has stayed with me since childhood. It highlights the reality of a corrupt and broken system, lack of quality and proper representation, and unethical public service. It mirrors the struggles of thousands of casual labourers commuting daily from Kibera’s informal settlements to industrial areas, working so hard yet receiving little or no payment.
As a member of parliament, I propose to leverage the National Government Constituency Development further to improve the equipment of the Kibera Job Centre. The establishment is critical in training, equipping, and linking Kibera youth and job seekers to job markets.
Housing is a significant problem for residents. Being a slum, residents live in shanties, mud-walled, rusted, ironed sheet roofing, and temporary structures frightened by illegal electric connections. As a result of these unlawful electric connections, the slum residents have frequently and occasionally been affected by fire outbreaks that have led to displacement, deaths and destruction of property. To mitigate these, we propose a people-driven, community-led investment housing scheme. In partnership with the National Government's Affordable Housing agenda, I would negotiate for a portion of the houses to be allocated to those with saving schemes to ensure sustainability and management after the Government's handing over.