Eric Mwiti, a taxi driver based in Umoja 1 estate in Nairobi, was on Saturday evening, July 18, thankful to his neighbours who came to his rescue after he managed to send a text message out, informing them of his impending death.
Speaking to the media through metal grills mounted on his windows, the emaciated man told a harrowing tale of how he came back home on Thursday, July 16, only to wake up to a strange padlock on his door.
His landlord, who leaves in Utawala, had made his way to Mwiti's house and locked him in without his knowledge, over rent arrears.
"I didn't have anything on me, I informed him when I came back and was hoping to have a sit down with him the following day but he just decided to lock me in. This is the same as killing me as I literally have nothing in the house," he narrated.
President Uhuru Kenyatta's decision to order a cessation of movement in and out of Nairobi had unfortunately locked Mwiti out of the capital, as he had gone to Meru to attend a funeral.
This left him with a 3-month rent deficit, resulting in his home imprisonment the moment he set foot into his apartment.
Luckily, he managed to send word out via a text message and on Saturday, his neigbours, including a homeless man in the area, brought him bread and other essential items, which they handed to him over his grilled window.
The incensed residents questioned the motive of landlord, arguing that if he was truly after his money, then locking Mwiti inside the house did not make any sense as the only possible outcome was death.
Moments later, Mwiti's neighbours finally managed to break the high-grade padlock, and went on to report the incident to the chief's office.
The negative effects of Covid-19 on Kenya's economy has been felt across all sectors, more so for businesses such as Mwiti's which rely solely on the actual movement of people.
The National Employment Authority registered a surge in notifications of job losses during the current pandemic.
Reiterating this fact, On May 30, Health CAS Dr Rashid Aman said that job losses during this period had so far affected over 3 million livelihoods in the country.
