A young man and his family will spend several nights in the cold after their landlord kicked them out over accrued rent. 32-year-old Robert Kiilu and his wife Jackline Kanyari, 23, had featured in a touching KTN News interview on Wednesday, April 15, which was recorded during the day and aired in subsequent bulletins.
Kiilu detailed how they had opened their one-bedroom house to 10 stranded neighbours, offering them food and shelter after they were evicted by their landlords but ended up being kicked out too as he sent a message to KTN News on Wednesday evening sharing his plight.
The father of one from Ruai, Nairobi, despite having rent arrears totalling to Ksh10,000 opted to aid his needy neighbours, as the effects of Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic continued to be felt by more Kenyans.
"Imagine my landlord was so furious on seeing you (KTN crew). We came back to the house and found it locked. We really struggled with him to let us pick a few items, which he did. However, we have found a safe haven for now," the message read.
Jackline Otipo, one of the tenants Kiilu housed, recalled how she met the selfless tenant, opened up on her woes that saw him decide to accommodate several others.
"One day, I went back to my house and upon arrival, my landlord evicted me as I had not paid my 3-month rent. I left and sat on the balcony, pondering on my next move as I have three children who depend on me.
"I can't believe that they helped us. I believe it's God work manifesting through their lives. They have welcomed us in the midst of this pandemic and they never cared about themselves," Otipo explained.
Kiilu's decision to welcome Otipo's family into his house paved way for more tenants who came asking for help, as he housed over 10 other families in a span of one week
"I don't know how Otipo trusted me and opened up on the challenges she was facing, The shopping we had stocked was enough, it would have sustained, my child, my wife and I for the next one month or so.
"So I informed my wife to let us shelter them as the food stock was seemingly enough. I told my wife to ask Otipo to look around for any other neighbour who needed help, so long as they are not more than five," he explained.
A few other families would soon move into the good samaritan's house with little knowledge that even Kiilu was behind on rent.
"I was so scared at first to house them. Imagine housing them with our situation too, wondering what would happen next," Kanyari stated.
Kiilu purchased hand sanitizers with his little savings and asked the women he was hosting to start hawking them to make ends meet for their now ballooned family.
The decision to host their neighbours went uphill as they ran out of food supplies as more woes piled upon them.
"I forgot to check on other bills in the house and my electricity and water connections were cut," Kiilu stated.
The Landlords and Tenants Association (LATAK) launched a helpline to help landlords and tenants across the country in case of an emergency while also urging Kenyans not to pay rent. In a press conference on Wednesday, April 5, LATAK unveiled the shortcode 20777 which landlords and tenants could text with the word "Landlords" or "Tenants" to seek intervention.
LATAK noted that association representatives would reach you after texting the words to the helpline revealing that it has a rapid response team in a number of police stations around the country.
"We direct all tenants not to pay rent until when Uhuru Kenyatta orders businesses to resume normal operations. All the landlords must forthwith stop evictions, harassment and disconnection of electricity and water to tenants who are not in a position to pay the rent of April and thereafter with immediate effect until the government orders reopening of all the businesses in the country," Justice Freedom Party chair, Justus Juma directed.
