Well, in Mombasa, it can be hard to differentiate the real
slums from the low-cost but non-slum areas. That is because, for the most part,
Mombasa buildings are of low-rise nature. In Mombasa, you won’t find
multi-storied single room flats, as is the case in Nairobi. You see, in Nairobi
they have this concept of building multi-storied single room flats – in areas
like Huruma, Mathare North, Kawangware, Kayole, Pipeline, Mwiki, Dandora… and
so on. In Mombasa, the equivalent is the Swahili house. So you will find a
low-lying Swahili house, with a rusted brown roof – but it is not an actual
slum house. It is the equivalent of the Kayole, Pipeline, Mwiki or Huruma multi-storied single
rooms block. The lifestyle in places like Magongo, Kisauni, Likoni, Bamburi
Mwisho, Chaani and Bombolulu is similar to the lifestyle in places like Huruma,
Kayole, Pipeline, Mwiki, Mathare North… and so on. So those are not real slums,
but rather low-cost/lower middle class residential areas.
But Mombasa does have areas that would qualify to be termed
as real, hard-core slums. They include:
- Moroto: This is to be found on the edge of Mombasa Island, just below Tudor, as you head towards the sea/creek. It is visible from the Kibarani/Makupa bridge. It is one of Mombasa’s biggest slum areas, hosting thousands upon thousands of people. It is probably the only pure slum on Mombasa island and provides shelter to the city’s hustler’s who would otherwise be sleeping rough.
- Kibarani: This is to be found on the Mombasa west mainland (Jomvu constituency, though some argue that it is in Changamwe), as you move towards the Kibarani bridge/Makupa bridge. It is quite a vast slum, though not as hardcore as Moroto. I noted, on a recent visit, that Kibarani even has cyber cafés where one can even apply for Kenya good conduct certificates online. And Kibarani also has genuine Kenya power electricity, with the residents able to buy tokens through the Kenya power paybill number. That said, there are some parts of Kibarani that are very poor, especially as you move towards the sea – where you may encounter individuals so poor that their hovels don’t even have doors.
- Bangladesh/Bangala: This too, is to be found on the Mombasa West mainland (Jomvu constituency), as you head from town towards Mikindani. It is quite a vast slum, perhaps more hardcore than Moroto and it has the feel and vibrancy of a Nairobi slum.
- Skembo: This is a small slum, in Changamwe constituency, hanging somewhere just above KPA’s second container terminal/SGR cargo terminal. You can't miss it while traveling out of/into Mombasa city using the Southern Bypass.
- Kalahari/Kalaeli: This is to be found somewhere below Chaani, as you head towards the river. But it is hard to refer to it as a pure slum, as it has a mixture of slum houses and some pretty decent houses.
- Mathare: This too, is to be found somewhere below Chaani, between Chaani and Changamwe. It too, is a mixture of slum houses and some pretty decent houses and is therefore hard to be referred to as a pure slum.
