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.
For many people, the obvious response would be to take out money and begin repairing the house. However, for the man, the situation is complicated by what he describes as Luo cultural traditions surrounding the renovation of a father’s home.
Speaking about his experience, the man expressed sadness over the condition of the family house, saying he had returned to his village after five years only to find the building in a worrying state.
“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,” he explained.
According to his understanding of the customary practice, a son is not allowed to renovate his late father’s house while the original structure is still standing.
Instead, he said the house must first collapse naturally before the son can build a new one on the same piece of land.
The situation has left him in a difficult position, as the house continues to deteriorate while he waits for the moment when he believes he will be allowed to rebuild it.
For now, his visits to the village have become uncomfortable because he cannot rely on the family home for accommodation. He revealed that whenever he returns, he is forced to seek alternative places to sleep, including nearby hotels and friends’ homes.
The man believes the tradition has made it difficult for some people to improve their rural homes, even when they have the financial means to do so.
“You see how tradition is messing some of us up; it’s taking us into poverty, so anytime I come home, it’s either I sleep in a hotel or at my friend’s place,” he said.
“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 added.