Nubians in Kenya: A People Denied | Think Africa Press

15.3.13

Nubians in Kenya: A People Denied | Think Africa Press: Kenya’s Nubian population originally served as Askaris (colonial soldiers) in the British Army before being settled in Kenya. In 1912, the British government designated over 4,000 acres of land for the Nubians to settle, which they finally granted to the Askaris and their dependents in 1917. Kibera, the large urban slum on the outskirts of Kenya’s capital Nairobi, grew grown out of the Nubian settlement – originally called Kibra by the Nubians, meaning ‘land of forest’. Today, the majority of Nubians still live in the Kibera slums, with the rest scattered across other major towns.

But while they originally came from Nuba, the community has also earned considerable Kenyan credentials. As well as having lived in Kenya for over a century, Nubians, for instance, helped defend Kenya and East Africa during both World Wars by serving in the King’s African Rifles in countries such as Somalia, Abyssinia (now Ethiopia), Madagascar and Burma.