Murang'a: 71-Year-Old Man Says Poverty Has Pushed Him To Share Falling House With Goats

• Peter Kamande, a 71-year-old man, said he slept with his goats at night in the same house as he feared they might be stolen
• The father of eight, who collected and sold firewood for a living, said he could not take chances and hosted the goats in the house he built in 1984
• Kamande said he did not wish his family to live in such a state but lacked the financial power to make a difference

Murang'a - A man from Makenji in Kandara constituency, Murang'a county, living in a dilapidated house with his family, has said he shares the same shelter with goats.

Why farmer sleeps with goats

Peter Kamande, a father of eight, said it was not his wish for his family to live in such squalid conditions, but lack of a proper income compounded with his frail health had turned the tables against him.

A disintegrating mud house with a tin roofing that could hardly keep a slight shower from wetting the interior was the sight that TUKO.co.ke was struck with when we visited his home.

The house that Kamande calls home is not partitioned by walls, and all that gives the parents some privacy are pieces of worn-out clothes hanging on a rope, perhaps to look like a curtain.

"I can't afford to buy new iron sheets for my house because the little money I get from collecting and selling firewood is used to buy food. We live from hand to mouth daily, and sometimes we lack. We don't have support from neighbours; we are by ourselves," the man married for over 20 years said.

Questioned why he shares the tiny space with goats, Kamande described the animals as assets in his compound that he could not afford to lose.

"I am scared that if I leave them outside at night, they might get stolen, so we have to spend with them in the small house. The house is small, and I also don't have the financial muscle to give my family the standard life they deserve," he continued.

When did Kamande built his house?

He noted that he built the house way back in 1984 and without any major renovations, its structural integrity was deteriorating by the day.

Kajiado family living in house without roof

In a different story, a Kajiado mum emotionally said the landlady removed the roof to kick her and her kids out of the house.

Carren Mwende narrated she and her two children had flu after spending nights in the cold as the landlady removed their roof.

The hardworking mother said the landlady ordered a young man to remove the roof as she claimed Mwende had KSh 8,000 rent arrears.

The mum from Rongai, Kajiado county, said she had paid every penny, had the receipts and had no balances, as the landlady claimed.