Kileleshwa Tenants Gang Up Against Landlord Over Rent Payments

Apartments in Kileleshwa estate
Apartments in Kileleshwa Estate in Nairobi County.
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Rent in Kenya

Tenants from an apartment named Viraj Millennium in Kileleshwa ganged up against their landlord.

They protested that he was forcing them to pay their rent in cash as opposed to making deposits.

The tenants, who stated that they feared contracting Covid-19, launched a petition calling for a different form of payment through a Whatsapp group, which most of them had signed.

According to K24 Digital on April 17, the landlord is said to have responded with a memo slipped under their doors explaining that the management had taken the necessary steps to curb the spread of Covid-19.

An image of a man holding a stash of cash
Kenya's new currency notes being displayed.
Simon Kiragu

Further, the landlord is said to have issued yet another memo, informing the tenants that he had set up a temporary office where the rent would be collected between 8 a.m. and 1 p.m.

The tenants being represented by Apollo Mboya and Co. Advocates, now demand an alternative mode of payment, failure to which the tenants say that public interest legal action will be instituted.

“I thought the government was clear on this matter, why are they insisting on us paying using cash?” one of the tenants questioned.

“We are being threatened with eviction,” another complained.

In a previous press conference, President Uhuru Kenyatta asked Kenyans to limit the use of cash in their transactions, as one of the means of curbing the spread on the dreaded Coronavirus (Covid-19).

“In order to avoid the risk of transmission through physical handling of money, we encourage the use of cashless transactions,” he stated.

Further, he asked he asked mobile telecommunications operators and banks to reduce the cost of transactions.

President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing the nation from State House Nairobi on April 6, 2020.
President Uhuru Kenyatta addressing the nation from State House Nairobi on April 6, 2020.
PSCU