Day of reckoning for dirty house help

By Evelyne Njeru

A house help in Hazina estate, South B, Nairobi, who had turned her boss’s house into a dumping site was sent packing when her employer went checking the condition of all the rooms in the house for renovation.

Her room had turned into a garbage area emitting a strong stench, leaving people wondering how a human being could survive in such squalor.

The dramatic event started when a Mrs Mugoji (not her real name), who is a college lecturer, went round from room to room to ascertain what needed changing.

But when she opened the door to the house help’s room, she almost choked. It was not only littered with all sorts of refuse, but it also exuded a nauseating stench.

Sanitary bin

According to Mrs Mugoji, Truphosa, her house help, had managed to survive for months in extremely dirty conditions without them noticing because she did not share the room with any member of the family. Reportedly, a thick layer of dirt covered the carpet and according to a next-door neighbour, the bedding looked like it had not been changed, washed or spread for months. According to Joanne, Mrs Mugoji’s daughter, the house help had turned the floor beneath her bed into a bin for used sanitary towels and all manner old dirty clothes were strewn on the floor.

While the discovery was being made, Truphosa was humming songs silently in the kitchen as she prepared lunch, unaware that the garbage dump in her room had been discovered.

Eventually, Sandra, the youngest family daughter, came to call her as directed by her mother.

No pay

Mrs Mugoji was so infuriated that she grabbed her blouse. “What is this I’m seeing? My house has become a dumping site? I want this rubbish cleaned— now — without pay!” she is reported to have thundered. It is reported that the uproar alerted her curious neighbours who came to witness what was afoot. They, too, recoiled at the stench and sorry state of the room.

Sources told Crazy Monday that apart from the house help being exceptionally dirty; she was also discovered to have stolen perishable commodities like fruits from the refrigerator and stashed them in her closet. Truphosa is reported to have been so ashamed by the event, but despite confessing and begging for forgiveness, she was spotted walking away from the flats with a paper-bag.