There was drama at the Mombasa County Assembly on Tuesday, after a section of locals 'gifted' county clerk a rare type of gift to pass their angry message.
To protest lack of toilets in the county's slums, the residents gave the County Clerk Salim Juma human faeces, soiled diapers and used sanitary pads neatly wrapped in a gift box.
In what began as a peaceful protest, the locals later handed over the gift box to Juma, who was to take it to Members of the County Assembly (MCAs), unaware of what was inside.
"We hope this will serve as a constant reminder to the MCAs on the need to respect, protect and craft policies that observe human rights," said William Oduor, a resident.
The locals, drawn from Muoroto and Bangladesh slums, said that lack of toilets have driven them into venturing into unhygienic methods of waste disposal, including using flying toilets.
“I prefer answering the long call of nature on the shores of the Indian Ocean. Personally, I don’t use the flying toilets because I wouldn’t know who the poop will fall on,” said Oduor.
He said that only one public toilet serves over 10,000 people in the two slums, with another slum dweller, Mariam Zame, warning that the next move will be even worse.
She warned that should the MCAs fail to act, they will drive a truck of faeces into the county assembly and lock all exit points for a whole day to subject the ward reps to the stench.