Nairobi Residents Face Eviction Over Ruto’s Affordable Housing Project
Tensions are running high in Nairobi’s Makongeni Estate as residents rise up against what they describe as sudden and unclear plans to evict them from their homes.
The government plans to clear the area for an affordable housing project, which is part of President William Ruto’s flagship initiative to tackle the housing crisis in Kenya.
Most of the residents in Makongeni are descendants of former workers of the Kenya Railways Corporation. They say they were caught off guard by an ongoing government-led enumeration exercise meant to identify those eligible for relocation and compensation.
According to them, there was no proper communication or community consultation before the process began.
“The officials just showed up one morning and started counting households. Nobody told us what was happening or why. We’ve heard talk of compensation, but no one has shown us any official documents or explained the plan clearly.
Some say they will give us Ksh150,000, but that amount can’t even cover rent in Nairobi,” said one concerned resident.
As tensions escalated, residents confronted the officials and demanded explanations. The situation became more heated, forcing police officers to intervene and restore calm in the area.
Judith Nyongesa, the Officer Commanding Police Division (OCPD), urged the residents to cooperate with the ongoing exercise. “We’re here to make sure that those who truly qualify for compensation are identified. But we also ask everyone to remain peaceful and patient,” she said.
Despite the police assurance, many residents say they are not convinced. They argue that the land they live on has a deep emotional and historical connection, as it is linked to pension arrears and unpaid retirement benefits owed to their parents who worked for Kenya Railways.
“This land belongs to us by right. Our fathers worked hard and retired without ever receiving their pensions. Now the government wants to throw us out like we don’t matter,” said another resident, expressing the deep frustration felt in the community.
Makongeni Estate is one of several locations identified for development under the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP), a project that aims to ease the country’s urban housing shortage.
While the project promises to offer low-cost homes to Kenyans, similar initiatives in other cities like Kisumu, Eldoret, and even other parts of Nairobi have faced criticism due to how they are being rolled out.
In Makongeni, the feeling among locals is that they are being sidelined in favour of private investors and developers.
Residents say they have sent more than 20 letters to the Ministry of Lands and Housing, including to Principal Secretary Charles Hinga, but none of their appeals have been answered or acknowledged.
Their biggest fear is that they will be left out of the project entirely, and that the land—worth an estimated Ksh50 billion—will end up in the hands of private developers instead of serving the community that has lived there for generations.
“This is not just a project—it’s our future. But the way they are going about it feels like they’re taking everything from us without giving anything back,” a resident concluded.
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