Dumpsite youth surrender guns
Youths battling for control of the Dandora dump site on Thursday surrendered five guns to Nairobi Police boss Benson Kibue.
Kibue led Senator Mike Sonko and other county leaders in trying to reconcile the warring groups. It was during the meeting that the youth surrended the firearms.
Before Tuesday’s violence, a tacit agreement demarcating the site into tens of sections known as “bomas” had held the peace.
It is a source of livelihood to youths from Kariobangi North, Dandora, Korogocho and Babadogo.
Over the years, each section has been controlled by a gang affiliated to either neighbourhood which salvages any valuable products from metals, plastics, papers and bottles for resale.
Takeover
What according to the Dandora youth started as turf struggle with their Korogocho counter parts quickly escalated into a complete takeover of the massive site by their well-organised rivals despite their inferior numbers.
“For years we have shared the dump site with them, but they are greedy and want total control. What are we to do and this is our livelihood?” Asked one of the youths who did not want to be identified for fear of reprisal attacks.
The tussle is reported to have started earlier in the week after a woman from Dandora was attacked and died. When however NairobiNews made enquiries, police could not confirm the death
“They came the following night and hacked one of us and threatened us with an AK-47 rifle and that is when we contacted the police,” added the youth.
This led to the open attacks on Tuesday that escalated to gun fire exchange which saw one youth from Dandora shot in broad day light by a gunman from Korogocho.
A recent UNEP report on the implications of the dump site paints a bleak picture of the health cost for the residents.