This archive report was first published on 6 June 2020.
Police Rise Above Duty to Help Evicted Tenants ¶
On Friday night, police officers enforcing the curfew in Githurai came to the aid of two women who had been locked out of their houses over rent arrears.
One of the women, Jane Kibicho, had been hospitalized earlier that day for a check-up on her leg, which has fractures on two different parts due to a recent accident. When she returned home, she found a padlock on her door and was told by the caretaker that there was no way he could help her.
Ms Kibicho then went to the area chief and informed him of the occurrence, and she came across Evelyn Sammy, who had been locked out with her five-year-old son. Evelyn is a hawker in Nairobi who mainly sells men's trousers and has been struggling to raise rent due to dwindling business earnings caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Despite being given the green light by police to break the padlocks, only two of Evelyn's padlocks gave way, and she was forced to spend the night in Ms Kibicho's house. The two women found a different face of the police as they pondered their next move.
Police officers stopped them at the gate, wondering why they were carrying rods for breaking padlocks at night. However, the officers were sympathetic and helped them get a metal rod to use.
Elsewhere in Nairobi, a middle-aged man was involved in a car accident on Saturday morning as he sped back home after being alerted that a group of strangers had descended on his house and were carting away his property at Karima Flats off Jogoo Road. The man, Mr Lenson Kiraithe, had rent arrears for two months.
According to Mr John Diang'a, Mr Kiraithe's neighbor and the tenants' representative, the affected man has not had rent issues for the six years he has lived there. However, he has been facing challenges due to the Covid-19 pandemic and had committed to pay his rent.
