One of popular road and somehow controversial road in Kibera slums is the Karanja Road on the posh side of the slums.
It is located the Kibera side that houses government and some parastatal employees.
Many people have questioned how the name was reached at and why the initial name of a Nubian, the majority inhabitants of that side of Kibera was replaced.
During election chaos the signage is often pulled down by the angry youths.
So, who is the person named after this controversial road?
To start with, this road was built in 1963 and it was the first one to be built in the Kibera slums.
It is said the road was initially called Suleiman Road, named after Suleiman Hamid, a colonial Nubian chief. At that time, the area was called Salama estate, inside the previously the larger Makina.
Later it was changed to Karanja Road, named after late Kenya Tea Development Agency General Manager Charles Karanja who was the first President of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya.
Nubian community has complained why their own’s name was pulled down and replaced with a non-resident.
They say Karanja Road name was imposed on them after Kenya gained independence. And that their efforts to have it corrected bore no fruits.
Yassin Hassan, a community leader says the first government of independent Kenya had a basketful of Nubian leaders to name after that road and others in Kibera rather than replace them with names of other local communities who came later.
