A section of the Canaan Estate in Kibera. [PHOTO/standardmedia.co.ke]
A year after their celebrated migration from the tough slum to an upgraded Canaan Estate, over half of the residents are said to have moved back into the slum.
According to the Standard, barely half of the 821 households that had bought houses in Soweto Zone A housing project christened Canaan Estate no longer live there.
This is because some of the residents could not manage the living costs in Canaan.
Some have therefore ended up selling the houses or are renting them to other tenants to make some money.
According to the estate's management, nobody can be restricted on hos to use his house.
“That is up to the owner of the house and the one who wants to rent it.”
Others have moved out of the estate because they cannot afford the Sh5000 mortgage fee payable every month.
“I gave the new house to my children. You see, they are in a position to pay the required Sh5,000 every month as mortgage,” said Christopher Kamau, who has since moved to a tin-walled house near the gate of Canaan.