Tenants of a Kinangop landlord Michael Munene surprised him with a ceremony as appreciation for waiving their rent in 2020 when Covid-19 hit the country.
In an interview with Kenyans.co.ke on Wednesday, May 4, Munene noted that he was elated with the Tuesday, May 3 gesture that took place in Nyandarua County.
At the ceremony, he was presented with a certificate and a trophy inscribed, 'Landlord of the Century Award 2020 to 2022'.
"It was a surprise for me because they came together and appreciated what I did. They set the day yesterday (Monday) and issued me an award in terms of certificate and a trophy.
"It actually said 'Landlord of the Century Award 2020 to 2022' There was celebration also. The most crucial thing is the appreciation," he stated.
Munene came to the limelight in April 2020 after announcing that he had waived all rent for his 29 tenants for a period of one month.
Thereafter, he extended the waiver by offering them an option to pay only 25 per cent of their rent in the seven months that followed.
Besides, he distributed foodstuffs to the families that had suffered immensely after losing their source of livelihoods.
"I did three things. I waved the rent for four months. What followed, they paid 25 per cent of the rent for seven months. I used to provide them with food.
"Also, there were some teachers and students in Form Four and Class Eight. Instead of just idling around, I set a class and we found the Covid-19 protocol," he added.
When asked how he raised the money to finance his philanthropy work, Munene explained that he used his savings.
The tenants, some of whom had stayed at the apartments for over 10 years, played an integral part in the landlord-tenants partnership.
"I got the money from savings because I was giving back. They had been paying rent with some who had stayed for more than 10 years.
"We had a landlord-tenant partnership and they had been sustaining me through so I did not find any hiccups in reciprocating," he told this writer.
It is estimated that over five million Kenyans lost their livelihoods during the first year of the pandemic, with the government instituting a raft of measures to shield Kenyans from economic ravages.
