300 Mukuru Residents Set to Get Affordable Houses After Missing Out

About 300 Mukuru residents who missed out on affordable housing units will be prioritised in a fresh allocation exercise, the Affordable Housing Board has said.

Board chief executive officer Joe Mutugu said the applicants are being verified to ensure that only genuine Mukuru residents who had previously applied but were unsuccessful are included.

“There are others who are genuine residents of Mukuru. They applied but because of high demand they were not successful. I am told they are about 300. All of them, we will make sure they get their houses,” Mr Mutugu said during a meeting with residents.

The announcement follows complaints from residents who said they had paid deposits and received confirmation messages before being told that the available units had been sold out. Residents had also questioned why payments were accepted when housing units were not guaranteed, prompting calls for greater transparency in the allocation process.

Mr Mutugu acknowledged that demand had exceeded the number of available units. He also said 164 residents who were enumerated before construction began but did not receive houses would be accommodated.

The board plans to achieve this by reclassifying some affordable housing units as social housing. The same approach will be used to accommodate the additional 300 applicants.

The State Department for Housing and Urban Development has said it will verify the claims and identify affected applicants who qualify for consideration. The dispute comes as the government continues to implement the Boma Yangu affordable housing initiative. 

Thousands of homes have been delivered under the programme, including 1,080 units handed over by President William Ruto at the Mukuru Meteorological Site.

However, demand for the units has continued to exceed supply, resulting in complaints from some applicants who were unable to secure homes despite making payments.