- A Kisumu man who returned to his rural home after five years away found his late father's house crumbling, with broken mud walls and damaged mabati roofing
- The man says Luo tradition bars him from renovating the structure, requiring him to wait until it collapses on its own before he can rebuild
- He shared a video of the dilapidated compound online, sparking sympathy and a broader conversation about how some customs can hinder development
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A Kisumu man's homecoming after five years turned into a moment of quiet devastation when he arrived to find his late father's house barely holding together, with crumbling mud walls and worn-out mabati sheets that had seen far better days.
Source: TikTok
For many, the obvious response would be to pull out the wallet and start repairs. But for this man, it is not that simple.
"This is my home, this is where I will be buried. I came here after five years and this is how it looks. I have been told I cannot repair this house because of the Luo tradition, the house belonged to my father and according to tradition he is the only one who can fix it or if fall on its own so I can repair it," he explained.
A Tradition Standing Between Him and Home
According to what he describes as Luo customary practice, a son cannot renovate a father's home while the structure still stands.
The house must first collapse on its own before a son is permitted to rebuild on that ground. Until that moment arrives, the family home continues to deteriorate, season after season.
The reality has pushed him to consider alternatives whenever he travels back to the village. Rather than sleeping in the decaying structure, he said he either books a nearby hotel or stays with a friend.
"You see how tradition is messing some of us up; it's taking us into poverty, so anytime I come home its either I sleep in a hotel or at my friend's place. So when you see a Luo living large in Nairobi and has no house in the village, it's not a joke; these traditions make it hard for some of us to develop our homes back in the village," he said.
He was keen to point out that the problem is not limited to his household. Many families, he argued, find themselves in similar situations, with willing sons and daughters who have the means to improve their ancestral homes but are held back by custom.
He stressed that his case is specifically about waiting for the structure to fall naturally before any construction can begin, a condition that leaves the home in a kind of suspended decline.
He shared a video showing the deserted compound and the state of the house, which drew an outpouring of sympathy from viewers online who identified with the tension between cultural obligation and the desire to build a better life.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
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