Kwajo Tweneboa paid a visit to CEL Solicitors to discuss with staff his activism journey, the worst housing disrepair cases he has come across, and the injustices in Britain’s social housing system.
Kwajo’s Journey
At just 23 years of age, Kwajo Tweneboa has appeared on Good Morning Britain and Sky News, been featured in The Guardian, has been awarded the Young Campaigner Award, and is now regarded as one of the biggest activists in the UK.
Where did it all start? Kwajo’s journey to becoming a social housing advocate began when his own home in South London was in severe disrepair during his late father’s treatment for cancer. Despite repeatedly contacting his housing association, Kwajo’s requests for repairs went unnoticed until he publicly shamed the association in a viral tweet.
He has since become a champion for people living in disrepair by meeting with social housing tenants and sharing their poor living conditions on social media.
Kwajo’s Presentation
With the team gathered in the ampitheatre, Kwajo spoke to us about his own struggles living in disrepair throughout his father’s illness, and how this awful experience prompted his fruitful activism journey. Amid the cost-of-living crisis, he boldly highlighted the devastating effects that this is currently having on social housing tenants. Kwajo also provided some insight into what should be done to improve the social housing landscape, expressing that public bodies must possess a genuine care for social housing tenants and prioritise public needs over profit. This spoke to us, as one of our core values at CEL Solicitors is ‘People before Profits’.
The housing champion shared with us extremely graphic footage, spotlighting the worst cases of inadequate housing he has come across in the few months that he has been visiting distressed tenants in their homes. Cockroach infestations, severe mould, toilet flooding, and burst water pipes were just a few things highlighted, leaving the team in a state of shock and indignation.
After participating in a lengthy Q&A, Kwajo concluded his presentation with an encouraging message – for people to continue the conversation regarding social housing, whether that be sharing a video online or educating your peers. In his own words, Kwajo states that “people don’t know what a retweet does, but it’s huge.”
Why Do We Host Special Guest Speakers?
As housing disrepair solicitors, Kwajo’s non-legal, yet unique perspective into the social housing sector was found to be extremely insightful. Kwajo revealed a side to the housing crisis that a great deal of us know all too well, nonetheless, many of us were yet to discover it’s severity.
At CEL Solicitors, we like to invite guest speakers into the firm to give a fresh perspective and enlighten us on various topics and social issues. We encourage education and open-mindedness, and our staff have a willingness to learn from our speakers. This year alone we have welcomed Doulas, Jemma and Anne-Marie, trainee solicitor, Akil Hunte, and TikTok star, Jessie Davies, otherwise known as @mimidarlingbeauty.
Our team at CEL Solicitors highly admire and support Kwajo’s campaigning work and are delighted to see how it is gaining traction.
Commenting on Kwajo’s visit, Owner and Director, Jessica Hampson, said:
“I have been following Kwajo for a long while, and from the very beginning I noticed him as an important voice for housing disrepair. At such a young age, Kwajo has proven to be a huge force for positive change – he possesses a genuine passion for helping people. Therefore, I feel privileged to host guests like him to shine a light on the real human devastation caused by poor housing in this country.
Importantly, Kwajo provided advice and insight into how us as an ethical law firm can use our voice and help. We are all lucky to have people like Kwajo fight the good fight so selflessly.”
Listen to Kwajo Tweneboa discuss his activism journey on our People Before Profits podcast. Watch on YouTube, Spotify, and other streaming platforms.
