Kibera slum is located in Nairobi, Kenya. It is the largest and the poorest African slum with a population of around one million covering about some 250 hectares of land.The name “Kibera” is derived from kibra, a Nubian word meaning “forest” or “jungle.”

The slum originated in 1918 as a Nubian soldiers’ settlement in a forest outside Nairobi, with plots allotted to soldiers as a reward for service in the First World War and earlier wars. For some reason, though, the British never gave the Nubians the title deeds to their new land. The soldiers built homes, and set up businesses. But they were squatters - with no legal rights.

After Kenyan independence in 1963, however, various forms of housing were made illegal by the government, rendering Kibera unauthorized on the basis of land tenure. Essentially, since the early 1970s landlords have rented out their property to a significantly greater number of tenants than legality permits. Since the tenants, who are extremely poor, are unable to obtain or rent land that is “legal” according to the Kenyan government, the slum-dwellers find the rates offered to be comparatively affordable. The number of residents in Kibera has increased accordingly despite its unauthorized nature.