Why moving houses mirrors chaos in government's Affordable Housing

Peter Kimani
By Peter Kimani | Sep 26, 2025
Manyattas in Garissa. [File, Standard]

I returned to surprising changes at my manyatta. I thought the habit of changing décor, or wall paints, was a thing of the past, after such manoeuvres in the preceding years. This time, I found the nanny had been moved to a separate pad that was constructed a year ago, but had remained unoccupied.

Yes, my domestic sphere mirrors the government set-ups.

We even have the office of the official opposition in the house!

There is no explanation as to why the maskan in question wasn’t utilised for a year, when housing needs are so dire in this land, other than the suggestion that the new place did not have “nice curtains.”

Well, I would say one doesn’t lie on curtains, but since I tend to mind my own business, I was going about my schedule when the fundi arrived, drill in hand. He was here to drill curtain holders, he said. Were there any brackets for his use?

I shrugged and said I had no idea what he was talking about. But when you have a fundi within easy reach, grasping a contraption that could cause actual bodily harm, one had better cooperate.

Someone tried to contact the leader of official opposition. A text flew back: She was in a meeting.

So, the task of finding wall brackets and curtain rods fell on me.

It was several hours before I could return to the work that I had planned for the day, devoting most of the day to running errands for the house project that was completed a year ago.

This world, my brother!

Share this story
.
RECOMMENDED NEWS