MOMBASA, Kenya—Efforts by the Government of Mombasa to remove street families from the city have hit a major setback, with many of the families refusing to leave despite repeated operations aimed at clearing them from public spaces.
Head of Operations, Mombasa County Inspectorate Department, Khadija Ali Mwinyi says the growing presence of street families in the coastal city has become a security concern, linking some of them to rising cases of petty crime and urban insecurity.
Speaking in an interview in Mombasa on Sunday, Mwinyi said the county government has repeatedly attempted to relocate the families from the streets, particularly within Mombasa Island, but the operations have often attracted criticism from human rights groups and members of the public who view the crackdowns as violations of human rights.
According to the county official, studies conducted by the county government indicate that many individuals living and begging on the streets are not entirely homeless, but have families and places they can return to, despite choosing to remain in the streets.
Mwinyi urged the affected families to voluntarily leave the streets before the county government resorts to forced removal measures.
She warned that life in the streets has exposed many children and youths to exploitation, drug abuse, disease and criminal activities, describing the situation as both tragic and unsustainable.
“Living on the streets is extremely dangerous and unhealthy, especially for children who are exposed to abuse, drugs and crime,” she said.
The county government has in recent years intensified periodic operations targeting street families across the city centre and other parts of Mombasa Island. However, the exercise has yielded little long-term success, as many of the families often return to the streets only days after being removed.
The issue of street families has remained a persistent challenge in major urban centres across Kenya, where poverty, unemployment, drug addiction and family breakdown continue to push vulnerable people into street life.
Human rights organisations have repeatedly called on authorities to adopt rehabilitation and social protection programmes instead of relying solely on forceful evictions.
Efforts
In 2019, the Mombasa County Government launched a major operation targeting street beggars and families across areas including Saba Saba, Buxton, Digo Road and Makadara grounds in Mvita and Nyali sub-counties. More than 50 beggars were rounded up during the exercise involving officers from the departments of Youth, Gender, Sports and Culture, Sub-County Administration and the County Inspectorate Unit.
At the time, county officials said the operation was aimed at rehabilitating genuine street children and vulnerable families by enrolling children in schools and integrating parents into skills training and business support programmes.
Current Mombasa County Gender Director Esther Ingolo, said the county intended to identify families in genuine need and provide them with support to help them live dignified lives away from the streets.
Social workers involved in the programme also raised concerns over children being used to beg by parents or guardians instead of attending school, warning that failure to intervene could expose the children to crime, abuse and long-term neglect.
County officials further argued that some of the street families were deliberately choosing begging over available empowerment programmes and economic opportunities provided by the county government.
Despite years of crackdowns and rehabilitation efforts, the problem continues to persist in Mombasa, highlighting the difficulties authorities face in balancing enforcement, social welfare and human rights concerns in addressing the growing street family crisis.
