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Single Kenyan Father and His Son Say They Have BeenLiving in the Thickets after Losing Livelihood Becauseof the Covid-19 Pandemic
A man and his son have been forced to live in a thicket after they were evicted from their house over rent arrears. Benjamin Kilonzo and his son, a Form Two student, were kicked out of their house three months ago after he defaulted in rent payment.
With no place to go, the two decided to build a makeshift shelter in a thicket at a farm in Machakos, where they have called home in the last three monthsThe two have been sleeping in a tattered mattress inside the makeshift house that features a polythene roofing supported by twigs.
Kilonzo recently told Citizen Digital that he has single-handedly raised his son ever since his wife left him when the boy was only two years old.
Kilonzo recently told Citizen Digital that he has single-handedly raised his son ever since his wife left him when the boy was only two years old.
He used to earn a living by supplying firewood to hotels and roadside cafes but the Covid-19 pandemic rendered him jobless as most of the joints were closed.
Kilonzo said he had taken his son to their rural home in Kangundo so that he could suffer alone but that his brothers sent him back to Machakos.
The two were found in the thicket by Catherine Mutuku, the owner of the farm, who initially thought a mentally-ill person was living in the makeshift shelter before she had a chance to talk to them. Kilonzo disclosed that his former landlord died two weeks ago, and efforts to recover his property failed as the family would not listen to his plea until they ‘finish mourning.’
Since they were kicked out, the two have not been able to change clothes and depended on well-wishers for food.