Just a day after President William Ruto handed over 1,080 completed units at the Mukuru affordable housing project to their owners, the criteria used to allocate the houses has been questioned, with residents claiming they were sidelined in favour of others not from the low-income estate.
While handing over the houses, President Ruto hailed his administration for delivering the affordable houses to the Mukuru kwa Njenga residents who were previously living in the slums.
The New Mukuru Housing Estate under construction in Mukuru Kwa Njenga pictured on May 21, 2025.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
But now residents, who protested the allocation criteria on Wednesday, said all was not well.
Jane, who preferred to only give her first name for fear of reprisals, told Nation that despite going through the entire procedure as required by the Affordable Housing Board through the Boma Yangu website, she was not given the house.
“I have a card here with me. You can see my details and the number of the house that I was allocated. But am still here in the slums because I did not get the house. I want to go to the chief office to explain to the why I was not picked, “she said.
Jane said that she only leaned about the function of the President through the media, which made her question the transparency in the allocation process.
"I don’t know how these houses are being given out. We were given these cards and told to wait until they reach out to us on when we will be moving in," she said.
According to her, the people who were given the houses in new Mukuru Estate were not from Mukuru slums.
“I only heard about two people who were given the houses but the rest of my colleagues did not get the space. The majority who got them are foreigners, people from South B and other areas," Jane claimed.
The New Mukuru Housing Estate under construction in Mukuru Kwa Njenga pictured on May 21, 2025.
Photo credit: Francis Nderitu | Nation Media Group
Veronica Katundu, who has been living in the slums for more than 20 years, said the government did not give them enough information about the affordable housing, and that they were left out due to lack of information.
"I did not apply for those houses because I did not get enough information and maybe I will apply for a one bedroom house if I get enough information, “Ms Katundu said, adding that she was among the people who attended Ruto’s event and was shocked to see new faces occupying the houses.
President William Ruto launches the 1,080 homes that are a part of the transformative 13,248-unit New Mukuru Housing Estate, the largest real estate site in Kenya’s history.
Photo credit: PCS
She is now asking the government to come out and address their case, since the temporary place that they now call home, is about to be claimed by the owner.
“We saw new faces there but they should consider the people from the slums next time who have been living in these informal settlements.”
The youths who spoke to the media said that the real hustlers who have been paying up to Sh2, 000 as rent in informal houses might not be able to afford the Sh3, 900 rent for the bedsitter in the new houses.
“Some of us are jobless, people are going through a lot. The people who are being given those houses are not familiar, that is just but playing PR with us. The President needs to now that we all have the rights to live,” Ali Mohamed said.
He has asked the government to allow the people in the slums to live peacefully without threats of being evicted and forced to move to houses which they cannot afford.
“You cannot give me a slot and ask me to call it home, where I cannot even rare chicken or cats inside. We want peace here in ghetto. We know the sweetness of life here because this is where we call home, “Mr Mohamed said.
His sentiments were shared by Nur Hassan, who said that the process was not transparent, asking the President to step in and ensure that genuine people from the specific areas in the slums are beneficiaries.
“Those people are not from the slums. We want them to start a fresh the process of vetting people before occupying the houses so that genuine people benefit, otherwise people will be left out. The government come out with a good mechanism, “Mr Nur said.
While responding to the outcry of the residents from the slums who were left out, Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga said that the government is allocating houses in phases.
"They should be patient. We are allocating the units systematically. We started with Riara and Mariguini," Mr Hinga said.
According to Affordable Housing Board Chief Executive Officer Sheila Waweru, the people who were picked but failed to get the houses will be considered in the next project.
“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, ”Ms Waweru said.
