Market Watch
January 31, 2023
2 minutes read

Landlord Auctions 8 Underwears To Recover Rent

A landlord in Kisumu has put up an ad in a newspaper to auction eight underwears belonging to his former…

A landlord in Kisumu has put up an ad in a newspaper to auction eight underwears belonging to his former tenant who moved out without paying rent.

According to the ad, Zacharia Shichenje Masika owed rent but moved out leaving behind 4 underwears belonging to his wife, 4 belonging to him, one hip enlargement, and 2 school bags for kids.

Here is the ad:

The unique ad, although many have made fun of it, mirrors tough economic times that the majority of Kenyans are facing in meeting their basic needs of buying food and paying rent.

The association of landlords and tenants in Nairobi said at least 60 percent of residents defaulted on their January rent as hard economic times continued to bite.

High cost of living:

Kenyans have continued to face a high cost of living as witnessed by the ever-rising inflation rate. Prices if common goods like maize flour have gone up with the government being unable to bring it down.

When President William Ruto was campaigning, he promised to bring down the cost of living through job creation, reduction in rent through public-private partnerships, and the price of unga from 250 to 100 shillings within 100 days in office. After becoming the President, he left his hustlers to scream on their own.

High taxes

Kenyans have nicknamed their president Zakayo Mtoza Ushuru (Zacheus the Tax collector). This is after the President developed a unique appetite for asking Kenyans to pay taxes.

In every speech that the Head of State gives nowadays, the song is “Everyone must pay taxes” without providing means for people to make a living so that they can pay the said taxes.

The latest victims of the tax drive are the landlords with the Kenya Revenue Authority now linking their systems to every landlord so that they can pay the taxes. This is set to increase rent.