''Uncle saidia (help),'' a thin-faced young girl sucking imaginable drops of juice from an empty bottle, taps this writer on the back as he goes about his duties along Moi Avenue, Nairobi.
''Tafadhali ninunulie tu chakula, sitaki pesa (Kindly buy me food, I don't need your money),'' she proceeds after granting her the attention.
The three-year-old girl went on to reveal that her three siblings and their mother are also trying their luck along the same street, a daily routine they have perfected since March when they could no longer afford rent for their single room in Ngara.
"I had a steady income while working as a bartender. My husband has been missing in action since late 2021 when he could no longer fend even himself,'' the girl's mother Njeri Wamae told the Star.
She hopes that things will be better someday and the family reunites.
"Recently, my eldest daughter aged 17 years gave birth to a baby boy on this very street. Finding food and warm clothes for the infant has been a hustle, but we try,'' Wamae said.
Yet, this family is not alone.
Almost every street in major towns and even village shopping centers in the country is filled with depressed beggars, hounded from their homes by tough economic times.
The latest Kenya Economic Survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS) shows there has been a 78 per cent increase in homeless families in the country in the past decade, with the number rising sharply since 2020.
The government data shows that there were 25,000 homeless families by the end of 2023 compared to 14,000 in 2014. It is estimated that soon, the homeless population will rise by over 200,000 people.
"No parent wants his or her family to loiter in the street in search of food. The situation is shameful and extremely degrading but do I have an option? a man must live,'' Janet Wanyonyi who operates from a lonely street within Kitale town told the Star.
She attributes this to the high cost of living amid the high rate of joblessness in the country.
Her sentiments are echoed by Janet Kisui who has resorted to collecting and selling plastic bottles in Eastleigh, Nairobi where she sleeps outside a shop along Maina Wanjigi Road with her six-year-old son.
"I earn a maximum of Sh450 on a good day. This is enough for me to buy food and pay my son's kindergarten fee. The rest is spent on clothing and medicine. Rent is a luxury that is beyond my means,'' She said.
Nathan Otengo 43 on the other hand volunteers as a night guard for an Asian family in Parklands in exchange for food and shelter.
"The economy is tough. I was deserted by my wife and children when I lost my job in 2020. I have lost hope of getting another job after countless trials,'' he said.
Economist Daniel Wesangula defines the current state as a depressed economy.
''This is a steep and sustained drop in economic activity featuring high unemployment and negative GDP growth. Although government figures indicate growth in the economy, homelessness, joblessness and high poverty index currently witnessed say another thing,'' Wesangula said.
He adds that the current high tax regime and volatilities in the geopolitical space have worsened the matter.
"This situation is not just unique to Kenya. It is a global trend,'' Jamleck Kyalo, a policy research analyst at a regional think tank told the Star.
He gives an example of the US where the number of homeless has risen significantly.
Homelessness in America increased 12 per cent from last year, now reaching the highest point since 2007.
At least 653,104 people were considered homeless in 2023, or roughly 1 in 5,000 Americans, according to newly released data from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).
Black Americans were disproportionately more likely to be homeless, representing 37 per cent of the homeless population despite being 13 per cent of the overall US population.
INCREASED CRIME
The spike in homelessness has triggered a crime rate, with some in Kenya like James Majale preferring prison where his housing and food needs will be met, however in a sorry state.
It is, therefore, no wonder that at least 216 Kenyans go to prison every day for different offenses, according to the latest economic survey.
This equals 6,540 prisoners a month and 78, 482 in the year 2023 alone, coming in the wake of a spike in crime incidences in the country.
The 2024 Economic survey by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics says that crimes reported in Kenya increased by at least 13 per cent.
Robbery cases stood at 3,988 in 2023, 3,125 in 2022, 2,456 in 2021 and 2,384 in 2020 while stealing cases shot to 18,534 in 2023, 14,718 in 2022, 11,762 in 2021 and 8,709 in 2020.
Nairobi City County command station accounted for the highest number of persons reported to have committed crimes at 10.6 per cent in 2023 followed by Kiambu, Meru and Nakuru counties at 9.1, 5.8 and 4.8 per cent, respectively.
The highest increase in the number of persons reported to have committed a crime was recorded in Narok and Kakamega Police command stations increasing from 782 to 1,487 and 1,338 to 2,226 respectively, in 2023.