Kenyan Muslims mark one year of humanitarian support for Gaza with major Nairobi event

The National Muslim Leaders Forum (NAMLEF) on Sunday hosted an event in Nairobi to mark one year since it began providing humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza, who remain under Israeli attacks.

Hundreds of people attended the gathering to show solidarity with the Palestinians and participate in fundraising efforts to send additional aid to Gaza.

During the event, NAMLEF screened several videos highlighting how aid contributions from Kenyans have been distributed and utilised in Gaza.

Representatives based in Gaza joined the session via live link, offering first-hand updates on how the donations were supporting communities on the ground.

NAMLEF Chairman Abdillahi Abdi addressed the attendees, outlining the ongoing challenges faced by Palestinians. He said the recent ceasefire agreement was not being honoured by Israel, noting that Gaza’s borders remained sealed and residents continued to suffer severe shortages of food, water, and electricity.

Abdillahi described the situation in Gaza as “genocide,” saying that the suffering had persisted for the last seventy-eight years.

He added that while more than 600 trucks of aid had been promised daily, fewer than 135 were actually entering Gaza — a figure he said was “not enough for even 10% of the community there.”

“What has been promised was more than 600 tracks should go in every day, less than 135 tracks are going, which is not enough for even 10 per cent of the community there,” he said.

Abdillahi urged Kenyans to continue supporting the Palestinian cause through donations and advocacy, likening it to Kenya’s solidarity with South Africans during their struggle against apartheid.

Former Mandera Senator Billow Kerrow also spoke at the event, asserting that Palestinians had the right to exist and that their land was “being occupied illegally by every Israeli.”

He argued that actions by Palestinian groups such as Hamas amounted to legitimate resistance, saying:

“There is no civilian in Israel; everybody there is illegally occupying the lands of Palestinians.”

Amnesty International Kenya Executive Director Irungu Houghton called on the Kenyan government to strengthen its humanitarian response and extend solidarity with the people of Gaza. He noted that most food aid never reached its intended recipients due to restrictions imposed by Israel.

“As we know, about 80 per cent of what was needed to go to Gaza as humanitarian food relief never reached Gaza because they were blocked, they were essentially obstacles placed in the face of humanitarian organisations,” he said.

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Acting Chief Kadhi Sheikh Hassan Omar Sukhyaan emphasised that the situation in Gaza should serve as a lesson for all, urging continued compassion and generosity.

“When the aggressors and the enemies of peace are not restrained, there will be no peace. What’s happening in Gaza is a lesson for all of us. We should not say we donated yesterday, today we do not have the ability,” he said.

The event concluded with renewed pledges to support Gaza through donations, advocacy, and transparency in aid monitoring, as well as calls to push for full access to humanitarian corridors.