16 families in Nairobi’s Kayole estate were forced to spend the night out in the cold after their landlord evicted them over unsettled rent dues.
The landlord of their flat locked their houses forcing them to sleep outside or seek alternative accommodation.
Some of the evicted mothers were seen carrying their young children on their backs, while other young ones stood outside in the dark with nowhere to go.
One of the tenants said they normally paid their rent on time and wondered why the landlord had locked them out during the ongoing fight against the coronavirus.
“We spoke to the agent and asked him to give us time until the 13th but he still evicted us,” one of the tenants complained.
“Right now, all my children are sleeping on the streets, I do not know what to do and the landlord has gone,” another tenant lamented.
The tenants requested the national government to come to their rescue and help them plead with their landlord to let them back in until things improve.
Kenyans are going through tough times as Covid-19 ravages the entire world, with stagnation of business and other economic activities due to spread of the virus.
Last week, President Uhuru Kenyatta pleaded with landlords to be considerate and give their tenants rent waivers during the pandemic as they grapple with lost jobs and other means of earning income.
President Kenyatta, while addressing the nation on Covid-19, requested the landlords to consider sharing the heavy burden of the current pandemic.
He said he was pleased to see Kenyans stepping up for each other and contributing to help their brothers and sisters in need.
“Those property owners who have reduced or agreed to work terms for the monthly rent in order to provide roofs over the heads of vulnerable brothers and sisters and in this regard, I wish to urge all others to emulate this great example and not put our people in even more vulnerable situations as we face this current pandemic,” he sai .
Despite his pleas, some landlords have been kicking out tenants even as the Landlords and Tenants Association of Kenya (LATAK) urged landlords across the country to offer their tenants rent waivers for the months of April, May and June.
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