Casual laborers in Kisii Monday spoke of growing anger and desperation life in the face of delayed pay.
Many of them now lament being kicked out of their rental houses by the landlords for failing to remit rent fees.
They have survived without pay for more than four years.
One woman, a janitor, said the already rent has piled to over Sh300,000.
She cannot afford drugs for her blood pressure condition also, she stated
“I wake up daily staring at death but the mercies of the Lord bring back to my house.. Not long though for i know i will die,” she told journalists in confidence.
They all spoke in confidence for fear of victimization.
John, (not his really name), said his daughter dropped out of school over fees challenges.
She later opted for life in the streets as a sex worker further compounding the family struggles.
“There is no worse pain than that of seeing your own bright daughter sinking into the basest of jobs just because you failed her as a parent…” he said wiping a tear.
Pamela, (also not her real name), a casual worker, said the plight facing them begun growing worse with Governor Simba Arati in office.
Arati did not pick calls when contacted for comment.
“We have approached him severally but only feeds us with empty promises. We are left to wonder if he ever knows we have mouths to feed, children to pay fees for, projects to do just like him!,” the affected worker told journalists.
Kefa, (not his really name), narrated how he watched his son die in the house because they could not afford basic drugs for him.
“I had an expired insurance and thus it could not cater for his hospitalization and so we returned home where he died still begging us to to return him to hospital.. We did not even have fare back to the facility ,” he said.
The workers were promised to be employed on pensionable terms by Governor Arati when he entered office.
” Today he is just engaging in cat and mouse with us…. Where is humanity in all this?, ” another affected worker posed.
