Kenya: For the Makonde, challenges abound a year after receiving citizenship
Published: 26/Mar/2018
Source: The Nation (Kenya)
By KAZUNGU SAMUEL & FADHILI FREDRICK
Expectant faces greet us when we arrive at Makongeni village off Likoni-Lunga Lunga road.
The sleepy hamlet is home to the Makonde people who migrated here from Mozambique in the 1930s to work in sisal farms along the Kenyan coast.
At the centre of the village stands a plaque with the message: “In recognition of the struggle of the Makonde who came to Kenya to work in sisal farms.”
KENYA CITIZENSHIP
Next to the plaque is a tree planted in commemoration of the event that has no doubt shaped the future of the community. In December 2016, after years of seeking to be recognised as Kenyans, the Makonde were officially awarded the Kenyan citizenship.
Before that the Makonde couldn’t get national identity cards and birth certificates. But that is all in the past now after President Uhuru Kenyatta pronounced Makonde the 43rd tribe of Kenya in February 2017.
Read further: https://www.nation.co.ke/news/Challenges-abound-for-the-Makonde-community/1056-4358542-lqp9qrz/index.html