Several families in Thika spend the night in the cold after their landlord welded their doors because of rent arrears

Seven families in Thika spent the night in the cold after their landlord locked them out of their rented houses for failing to clear their rent arrears.

According to the victims who reside in Kisii Estate Kamenu area, the landlord came with some welders and sealed off their doors without giving them a chance to take out anything from the house.

The families were therefore forced to sleep outside, some with very young kids who had no warm clothing to beat the cold.

Though they admit to owe the landlord two months rent arrears, they appealed to him to be humane enough especially at this COVID-19 period where most of them were surviving by the grace of God, having lost their source of livelihood due to the resultant socio-economic plunge.

"I used to work as a tout in Murang'a County but we got locked out by the cessation. I am now jobless and whatever I get now from my daily hustles end up being consumed by food," explained one of the affected tenants.

They claimed that they have pleaded with their landlord to give us more time landed in deaf ears.