“If a miracle happened and our great grandparents were resurrected and woke up, they would say, God, I don’t want to witness this! Things now aren’t like they used to be…We are really trying out best, but they wouldn’t like what they see. They would wake up, and want to go right back to their graves.”

A Nubian woman holds a photo of her grandfather (lower left) and a group of Nubian soldiers in the King's African Rifles. He served for the British for 27 years, beginning in 1891. He was provided a ‘shamba pass’ and was discharged from the KAR in 1918. His family continues to live in Kibera today.

After Kenyan independence most Nubians were not granted citizenship. Until the census in 2009, the Nubian community was not listed as a tribe of Kenya; they were considered as 'Others'. Three men from the Nubian community sit in a soda shop in the Makina section of Kibera.

The British built Kibera Primary School specifically so that future generations of Nubians could go to school. Queen Elizabeth inaugurated the school when it opened in 1953.

For years, Nubian youth have had to go through a nationality verification process called 'vetting' in order to receive a National ID card.  A National ID card is vital for everyday life in Kenya and is essential for recognition of citizenship. Nubian youth have had to wait years for their IDs or in some cases are denied an ID.

Nubians are one of the only communities in Kenya to be vetted. Nubian youth are interviewed by a “vetting committee” and must prove their connection to Kenya. They are often asked to present any number of documents, including grandparents' birth certificates. Two unemployed Nubian youth sit in their youth group's office in Kibera. 

Nubian youth sit around in Kibera because they cannot find work.  Denied IDs and without opportunities for employment and higher education, many youth in the Nubian community feel they have been unable to fully participate as citizens in Kenyan society. (2008)

“At the age of 18, your life as someone from Kenya stops. When you apply for a National ID, that is when a Nubian finds out this country doesn’t want him and the previous 18 years all of a sudden don’t mean anything.”

People from Kenya’s larger tribes hold important positions in the private and public sectors.  Few, if any, Nubians have positions significant enough to help influence their community's development. Most Nubian youth find they are limited to working odd jobs in Kibera.

This family has lived in the Laini Saba area of Kibera for over 100 years. "Kibera wasn't always like this. To be from Kibera meant that you were Nubian. Now, to be from Kibera means that you are from a slum."

Over one hundred Nubians walk through the dusty paths in the Makina section of Kibera during a traditional Nubian wedding ceremony.

Hundreds of Nubians as well as people from all over Kibera congregate to watch the wedding party. The ceremony runs all night long. Nubian women in traditional dress called gurbaba perform a traditional Nubian dance called doluka.

A Nubian women's group meets to raise funds for their programs. Nubian women take great pride in their community and feel it is essential to the community's future to preserve and promote Nubian culture and traditions.

Most residents in Kibera are transported back to their rural homes to be buried, but Nubians have been buried at the Muslim cemetery in Kibera since 1912. It is the only graveyard in Kibera. Nubians feel it is the most significant confirmation of their connection to the land of Kibera. Nubian men make a final prayer before the deceased is laid to rest.