Martin Adhola writes from violence-torn Kenya, where he witnessed the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Nairobi's biggest slum and travelled with thousands fleeing post-election turmoil in the west.

9 January 2008

This morning I decided to visit Nairobi's Kibera slum, where there have been violent clashes in the past weeks.

Life here has ground to a halt. Many of the residents are living in constant fear, not knowing what tomorrow will bring.

Walking through the vast slum that is home to around 800,000 of Kenya's poorest people, I encounter painful scenes. Many women are walking to the nearby Anglican church in search of food.

Most of the slum residents depend on daily jobs in far flung industrial areas to earn a living.

One of the women told me that she was sick and hungry and did not know where to find food, as her husband had been shot by the police during the riots.

She said that the neighbours who have been helping her are now themselves running out of supplies. She feels bad asking, given that they are all poor.

"We are all living in fear and here the poverty is high, so when you ask from a poor person you get so little to satisfy your needs", she said.

On the Kibera drive that stretches from Ngong road and runs through the area there are burnt cars, petrol tanks removed from petrol stations, and youths who have formed vigilante groups.

They told me that there was rampant looting in the area and they were providing security.

Pharmacies that supplied cheap generic medicines to slum dwellers were wiped out in fires that gutted close to 500 shops in the area.

The humanitarian situation is worsening by the day, as water pipes were cut off and most of the residents are now faced with acute water shortages.

I watched this morning as families struggled to get water from a burst pipe by the road underneath dangling power lines that looked threatening.

Residents say that they have not had any food aid since the conflict began. They feel forgotten.

Tuesday 8 January

After trying for seven days to get to Nairobi I have the chance to join the long convoy of vehicles that has formed at the local District Commissioner's office for security on the way to the capital.

All the way from Kisumu to Kericho there are burnt houses and cars and trucks littering the roadside, some still smouldering from the latest outbreaks of violence.

As we move into Kericho town the situation becomes grimmer. Hundreds of families displaced by the violence are camped by the roadside, trying to wave down every vehicle for help.

Some of them tell me that they have been on the road for close to 10 days. They are looking for help at a local church that is already overflowing with people.

The priest seems to be overwhelmed by the crisis and is trying to calm the desperate crowds asking for food.

Driving through Londiani and Molo I see hundreds of families stuck in the local shopping centres. They too are running away from the violence that has rocked the area.

More trucks join the already large convoy, with loads of furniture, cows and families trying to get to Nakuru where they are told their security is guaranteed.

In Nakuru army trucks are arriving with more people from the villages as far away as Eldoret.

A Nakuru resident says that the town is overflowing with displaced people, stretching already limited supplies.

Thousands of families are camped at the local stadium and the show ground, hoping that peace will return to their homes soon so that they can start living again. They tell me that they hope the political situation will be resolved soon and there will be an end to the bloodshed.

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