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| Dann Mathews Were who sleeps in a car (r), and the car where he sleeps at home (l). |
Dann Were W’Obukosia is now forced to sleep in his car whenever he visits his rural home, as rodents, snakes, and bats have invaded his house. Dann Mathews Were who sleeps in a car (r), and the car where he sleeps at home (l). Speaking to TUKO.co.ke, Dann said growing up as a pastor’s son had its ups and downs. “Going through school was a big struggle for me, so much so that I missed Form Three, a critical stage of secondary education. Attaining a strong Third Division (I missed a single point to be in Division Two) was a miracle for me since I had long given up; we were poor. “Some of my immediate siblings had to be scattered among relatives where they were used as househelps. I didn’t escape it either, since I’d stay with diverse relatives during holidays.
At home, before I built my hut (Isimba), I’d sometimes sleep in neighbouring homes – with my paternal uncles, for instance, where I’d share rooms with my cousins,” he said. Dann’s first salary gobbled in school fees Dann said he forfeited a chance to advance his education, and the priority was for him to get employed and cover the family’s nakedness, never mind that his dad was respected as a reverend. “I think they revered his church title but not the person. Immediately after I got employed, my salary was gobbled up in school fees for my siblings.
I was always in debt for all the years I served as a civil servant. I was a slave, literally speaking! I had no house at home for a long time until 1994 when I changed jobs and was now in a well-paying environment,” he added. How much does it cost to build a three-bedroom house? Dann and his sister joined hands to build their parents’ house first; it was semi-permanent but later upgraded to an improved structure. “In 1996, I decided to construct mine, ostensibly because I was getting married. I managed to put up a three-bedroom structure, which cost me over KSh 800,000 by then. “We used it sparingly whenever we were home, as happens with people working away from their homes in urban dwellings. It was also open to guests visiting our home even in our absence since an extra bedroom was reserved for that purpose,” he added.
Dann opens up on divorce with wife One time, Dann noticed termites had invaded their kitchen and consumed most of the woodwork. They dealt with it and repaired it. “Slowly, we noticed bats in the roof ceilings. A few at first…then on another occasion, I noticed bees too had camped in one of the bedrooms. Increasingly, I became apprehensive about the house. “After my wife and I divorced, I abandoned the house. Since my siblings had built theirs, nobody bothered to check in occasionally or clean and maintain it,” he said. When did Dann start sleeping in car? Meanwhile, the bat, bee, and rat populations had increased. There were holes everywhere, including in the walls. “The day I spotted a snake crawl out of a hole in my bedroom is when I began sleeping in my car. Eventually, I decided to pull down the structure after building a home elsewhere!” he said.
by Susan Mwenesi John Green