Kenyan estates where Congolese ply their trade

This is the mineral-rich region that has been wracked by violence for decades, and recently things have come to a head with the resurgence of the M23, a Congolese-Rwandan rebel group. Two weeks ago, the M23 seized Goma, the provincial capital of North Kivu, and the violence has spread to South Kivu, home to the Banyamulenge.

In Kitengela, some refugees – many registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) – have been living here for over 16 years.

We tracked down some of the 'pioneer' refugees in the sprawling suburb of Kyang'ombe and the Newvalley estates, which are known to be their preferred residences.

According to records at the Covenant Church, one of the churches they patronise, the first group of seven Congolese refugee families arrived in Kitengela in 2009, hosted by the church's pastor, the late Simon Njoroge. The number has since grown to at least 3,500. The majority are young, and there are more men than women.

Elysee Cyabakuru, 35, a tall, jovial man, recounts how he endured eight days of agony in 2015 when he, his twin brother and dozens of other villagers fled the war-torn region to Kenya from Minembwe, his home in DR Congo.

Minembwe is a cluster of villages in the Lulenge highlands of Fizi Territory, South Kivu Province.

He says they walked from Minembwe to the town of Uvira in two days and nights, then another day to Goma and then to Bunagana on the Congo-Uganda border.

"It took us another three days from Goma across Uganda into Kenya. We were lucky to be offered rides on transit goods trucks,” says the father of three. "After crossing the Busia border, it took us another two days to reach Nairobi, famished and weak. Our legs were full of blisters but at least we were out of the war zone."

After a short stay in Kasarani in Nairobi, Cyabakuru moved to Kitengela.

Cyabakuru is a boda boda rider and earns at least Ksh500 ($3.87) daily.

He has never been back to Congo.

"I left my home country when I was 20 years old, fleeing the war. I am now 35 years old and there is still war. Is there anything to make me go back? I’m hopeful that UNHCR will one day give me a permanent settlement far away," he says.

Theophile Bigirumwami, representative of the Refugee Affairs Secretariat, says there are at least 3,500 Banyamulenge refugees in Kitengela registered with the UNHCR. There are also Burundian and Rwandan refugees, but the Congolese outnumber them.

"The number of refugees continues to grow, especially now that there is war in our homeland, Congo. We co-exist well with the locals despite myriad challenges, including lack of employment and low remuneration for the casual jobs available,” Bigirumwami says. He works as a motorcycle rider, known locally as a boda boda.

Registered refugees have alien cards, giving them a few privileges.

"With an alien card, we can now get a KRA PIN, driving licence, open bank accounts and register for M-Pesa. We are now 50 percent Kenyan. Two years ago, you could not access such services," Bigirumwami says.

Kenya recognises prima facie and statutory classes of refugees.

All asylum seekers and refugees are required to live in designated refugee camps and need a movement pass to travel outside the camp, but some Congolese refugees have a phobia of camps.

Bigirumwami explains: "Since Wanyamlenge mass killings in Burundi refugee camps in August 2004, we fear such confinement. For us, life in refugee camps is a death trap. Currently, the UNHCR is not issuing alien cards to refugees outside camps but most of our people prefer to live without them instead of going to camps."

Read: In Congo, refugees risk returning home to escape violations in camps

The Congolese are deeply religious and belong to churches such as Rehoboth Ministry Church, Word Ministry Church, Evangelical Covenant Church, Fresh Manna International Church, Hope International Church, Apostles Church, Harvest Ministry and Zion Temple Church.

Their services are conducted in their own language, and their choirs produce melodious gospel music.

The Congolese believe strongly in church weddings, and hardly a week goes by without a church wedding.

But they rarely intermarry with the local communities.

Cyabakuru, who got married at Covenant Church in 2018, says he met his current wife, who is also a refugee, in church.

"Back at home, we believe in church weddings as the pillar of a marriage. I called my parents and informed them I had found a lady to marry. I shared my then girlfriend's parents’ address and they reached out for dowry negotiations. Our bride price is usually eight cows. We were remotely blessed to marry here in Kenya," he says.

This is what many do. They’re blessed in absentia.

Of the bride price, two cows are for the ceremony at the bride's home -- even in absentia. Two cows remain with the bride's parents while two are returned to the groom after the wedding as an economic springboard to start a family.

Six years after the wedding, Cyabakuru’s in-laws have never met him or his family.

The Congolese are hard workers. The men ride boda bodas while the women hawk food and groceries for a commission.

Others work at barbershops and salons. There are more than 500 beauty shops in Kitengela town and nearly all have a Congolese employee.

One beauty parlour owner said the Congolese are experts in hairdressing and are trustworthy.

“We know they are refugees but they are good at what they do. They are trustworthy and they fear to find themselves on the wrong side of the law. Their services are also cheap,’’ the proprietor says.

Bigirumwami and about 50 other boda boda riders are based in Kitengela. The chairman of the Boda Boda Safety Association of Kenya (BAK) in Kitengela, Geoffrey Karanja, says the Congolese riders abide by set rules and regulations and have earned the respect and admiration of their customers.

Nightclubs also want them as waitresses, while they are also in demand as nannies.

They are often victims of labour exploitation, with a refugee domestic worker earning Ksh4,000 ($31) or less compared to Kenyans who earn between Ksh7,000 ($54) and Ksh10,000 ($77).

In 2023, when the state ordered the demolition of structures on land owned by East African Portland Cement, at least 100 refugee families in a village nicknamed 'Little Kinshasa' lost their homes. They had been duped by unscrupulous Kenyan land agents into buying plots on EAPC land.

"I usually receive support from my brother who is settled in a European country. I had used the money to purchase a plot and construct a permanent house but it was demolished,” says a 37-year-old Congolese refugee.

Henry Rop, Isinya's deputy county commissioner, says the co-existence of refugees and locals is part of the government's integration process. The children of Kenyan and Congolese parents are entitled to dual citizenship.

"The local administration monitors them closely to ensure they are all registered with the UNHCR," Rop says.