The first units of affordable housing project under President William Ruto in Mukuru slums are now occupied, giving a new face to the lives of the low-income neighbourhood in the city.
The 1,080 units in Mukuru Estate were handed over to owners in a colourful ceremony which saw the President giving out keys to the owners and wished them well as they start the new journey of owning assets in Nairobi County.
President Ruto Presides Over The Mukuru Housing Keys Handover
“I want to tell you, the people of Mukuru. You are happy but I am happy more than you because my dream has been fulfilled; of uplifting a common citizen from the dust to the flats. This is the most consequential day in my political life,” President Ruto said.
Majority of the beneficiaries who received their keys have been living in iron sheet houses in the slums of Mukuru and Mariguini, and they could not hide the joy of changing the living environment.
Richard Mauko, 45, who has been living at Mukuru kwa Njenga and paying a rent of Sh2, 500 says that the fact that he has secured a bedsitter in such kind of an environment is an achievement to him.
“I have a family of two and this is a big achievement to me. This is no longer rumours, I now own a house in Nairobi with water, toilet and connected with electricity and cooking gas,” Mr Mauko said.
The government had stated that Mukuru and Mariguini residents will be given the first priority in the allocation of the social housing units once complete.
Mr Mauko says that he will be paying Sh3, 900 every month, which is more than what he used to pay in the slums but the standard of the new house is what motivated him.
As he settles in his 20 square metre space, Mr Mauko revealed that the double-decker bed with heavy duty mattresses inside his house was provided by the government, a step that he termed as a surprise to him.
“I already have a bed and a couch. Am sorted, I only have to go and pick my family and few stuffs. I will sleep here today.”
She said that it came at just the right time, as they had been experiencing flooding in the slums due to the heavy rain.
“The floods used to enter my house and I lost my documents due to that. I have really come out of a worse environment and we thank God for the President. Whenever it rains in the slums, you spend your time clearing water from the house day and night. This is good,” Ms Jacinta said.
She is moved by the shower inside her bedsitter and the cooking gas as well as the security around, which she has never experienced for her 20 years in the slums.
“I am starting my life afresh here and I thank God for uplifting my life from where I used to be. I wish that this project had come earlier because I have been paying about Sh3, 000 rent to one landlord for more than 20 years.”
Cecilia Wanjiru, who has been living in the slums for the last 10 years, describes the new housing project a saving haven for women and the vulnerable who used to be displaced whenever it rains.
“Challenges are many in the slums and am happy that I can now sleep at peace without thinking that floods will come into my house when it is raining. Cases of fire were rampant there but am happy that am out,” Ms Wanjiru said.
She is a local food vendor who is struggling to make ends meet for her family. However, Ms Wanjiru says that she could not think of a better way for her children to be proud of her than by owning a house in the city.
“I had nothing else that my children could inherit from me but am now a happy mother. Am so proud because I will tell them that his is what I will leave for you in Nairobi City,” Ms Wanjiru says.
A section of the Affordable Housing Project in Mukuru, Nairobi on December 11, 2024.
Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group
The same sentiments are share by Monica Wangare, who says that she has
“What I can say now is that the journey is like that of Israelites who crossed the Red Sea to their promised land. I can see that we have really reached where we had been promised and God has been keeping us safe in the slums,” Ms Wangare said, adding that the President has delivered what he had promised them during the campaigns, that he would upgrade the slums.
The Mukuru Affordable Housing sits on a 55-acre land, which was under the Kenya Meteorological Department.
According to Affordable Housing Board Chief Executive Officer Sheila Waweru, all the units are available through a long-term Tenant Purchase Scheme, which enables buyers to pay monthly for over 30 years at a subsidised rates.
She said that the process of identifying beneficiaries and allocating them houses was transparent since the process is done through the online platform of Boma Yangu .
“They are paying Sh3, 900 per month which includes service charge, repayment for the unit and it includes mortgage insurance. Once they applied for the deposit assistance, they were able to apply for the units which go through an algorithm which looks at issues of timeline, consistency in terms of savings,” Ms Waweru said.
She reveals that before an individual is allocated a house, the board runs through the data of an applicant using the financial institutions which they have partnered with to get the financial income and the ability of the payment that an applicant can manage.
The CEO explained that in the circumstances that ten people or more applied for the houses, and the available houses are fewer, they use the list to check who paid the deposit and applied first.
“Those who were successful but did not get the houses are put on a wait list, meaning that you are on a waiting list and you can apply for either phase two or you can select a different project that is going on in the system.”
At the moment, the board says that the ownership documents of the occupants is being held at the Ministry of Lands, which would be given to them once they complete their payment.
