This archive report was first published on 6 July 2020.
On July 6, 2020, singer and comedian Alvan Gatitu found himself on the streets after being evicted from his house over rent arrears.
The adverse effects of the novel coronavirus had taken a toll on Gatitu's livelihood, making it difficult for him to raise the rent.
He took to Instagram to narrate his ordeal, uploading a video where he explained that he had just woken up from sleeping in a guard's booth at the time of recording.
According to Gatitu, he tried calling his landlady but her calls went unanswered.
"So, Covid-19 has affected many people in various ways, some have fallen ill, and others have seen their livelihoods affected," he said. "I'm here to attest to the second part where your livelihood has been affected. The reason why I'm on the street right now recording at 5:30 in the morning is because I just woke up. I slept in a guard's booth here at Riara because I was locked out of my house," he added.
Gatitu also explained that his landlord and landlady had decided to deal with their own problems, leaving him to fend for himself. "My landlord and landlady thought they had their own problems, and I went to deal with mine. So, I slept outside. Please note that as this was happening, I had been without water and electricity for one and a half weeks. Just trying to make ends meet has been impossible because many people's livelihoods have been affected, and business wasn't working," he said.
Despite his struggles, Gatitu encouraged people going through tough times not to give up.
