Mohammed Sharif Abdi, who has been living in Bristol City in the United Kingdom, is now a dejected man after living in a noisy Council house for three years without help.
Speaking to Bristol Live, Abdi noted that his wife and their three kids left the government-owned two bedroom house and returned to Kenya after the noise from the pipes in the flat became unbearable.
The family first occupied the house in 2013 and the noise from the piping system affected the entire building gradually. His wife was pregnant at the time but his numerous complaints fell on deaf ears.
"I’ve been complaining about the noise for the last three years, it’s really annoying, I can’t sleep and it gets worse at night. My little one used to wake up all the time, it affects the children in the long run.
"They don’t want to come back to this place, that’s part of the reason why they left," Abdi told the publication.
He noted that the noise, which has affected his sleep, sent him into depression and caused him to make unnecessary errors at work.
Since he made the complaint three years ago, officials from the city began carrying out investigations which are still ongoing
"I sleep for a little bit and then I wake up, it gives me depression. I can’t focus on my work, sometimes I make mistakes.
"They are still investigating, but surely three years is a long time to be investigating," he added.
He further noted that after his wife moved back to Kenya, he is no longer eligible for being rehoused since he only lives alone even though the family's transfer was just temporary.
"I want to move and I was bidding on Home Choice but now I can’t bid because my family is in Kenya. My wife is sick and she couldn’t get medication here but now she is in Kenya and she is getting medication and is much better," he lamented.
According to the Kenya High Commission in the United Kingdom, there are approximately 200,000 Kenyans living in the United Kingdom.
Some foreigners living in England, Scotland and Wales struggle with an exorbitant cost of living with a 2-bedroom house costing as much as Ksh150,000 (1,200 Euros) monthly rental.
A sizeable number of foreigners living in the UK are undocumented and are disadvantaged when it comes to access to employment activities as well as quality living standards.
