Licha ya kasoro, tulitumia huduma ya chumbani.

Licha ya is a fixed expression meaning despite, in spite of, or regardless of.

So:

• Licha ya kasoro = despite the flaws / despite the problems

It is best learned as one chunk: licha ya + noun.

Because licha ya is the normal full expression. In other words, Swahili does not usually use just licha by itself in this meaning.

You can think of it as:

• licha ya
  • something
• despite
  • something

So in this sentence:

• Licha ya kasoro = despite the defects/problems

Kasoro means defect, fault, flaw, shortcoming, or problem, depending on context.

In this sentence, it most naturally means something like:

• flaws
• problems
• shortcomings

A useful thing to know is that kasoro is a noun whose form often stays the same in singular and plural, so context tells you whether it means a flaw or flaws.

Tulitumia breaks down like this:

• tu- = we
• -li- = past tense marker
• -tumia = use

So tulitumia means we used.

This is a very common Swahili verb pattern:

• subject marker + tense marker + verb stem

For example:

• nilitumia = I used
• ulitumia = you used
• alitumia = he/she used
• tulitumia = we used

Because Swahili usually puts the subject inside the verb itself.

In tulitumia, the tu- already means we. So Swahili does not need a separate word like English does.

That is why:

• tulitumia already fully means we used

not just used.

It means room service or service in/to the room, depending on context.

The parts are:

• huduma = service
• ya = linking word, roughly of
• chumbani = in the room

So literally it is something like service of/in the room, but in natural English this is usually room service.

Because Swahili often links nouns with a connector that agrees with the first noun.

Here:

• huduma
  • ya
    • chumbani

The ya is the associative/linking word, often translated loosely as of.

So instead of stacking nouns the way English does in room service, Swahili commonly uses a linked structure:

• huduma ya chumbani

Chumba means room.

Chumbani is the locative form, meaning:

• in the room
• at the room
• to the room
  depending on context

The ending -ni is very common for making a location idea in Swahili.

So:

• chumba = room
• chumbani = in/at the room

It can function like one, especially in hotel or hospitality contexts, where it is understood as room service.

Even if you analyze the grammar literally, native speakers will often understand it as the normal idea of service connected with a room, especially service brought to a hotel room.

So yes, in many contexts you can treat it as a practical set phrase.

Swahili often puts a phrase like despite the problems at the beginning to set the scene first.

So the sentence structure is:

• Licha ya kasoro, = despite the flaws/problems
• tulitumia huduma ya chumbani. = we used room service.

This is very natural and emphasizes the contrast:

• there were problems,
• but we still used the service.

Yes. A version like:

• Tulitumia huduma ya chumbani licha ya kasoro.

would still be understandable.

However, starting with Licha ya kasoro gives stronger emphasis to the idea of despite the flaws. It sounds a bit more like setting up the situation first.

The comma separates the introductory phrase from the main clause:

• Licha ya kasoro, | tulitumia huduma ya chumbani.

It works much like English:

• Despite the flaws, we used room service.

In informal writing, people may sometimes leave such commas out, but using it here is clear and natural.

Then Swahili would usually use an object marker inside the verb instead of repeating the noun.

Since huduma is the thing being referred to, you could say:

• Tuliitumia. = We used it.

In the original sentence, there is no object marker because the full object is stated explicitly:

• tulitumia huduma ya chumbani

That is very normal in Swahili.