MUKURU KWA REUBEN, Kenya – Residents of Mukuru kwa Reuben in Nairobi have raised concerns over the allocation of Affordable Housing units, with some claiming homes they had paid deposits for were later declared sold out or allocated to other applicants.
The affected residents say they contributed money towards units under the government’s Affordable Housing Programme but were recently informed through messages that the houses were no longer available.
The development has left some applicants questioning what happened to their payments and applications.
One resident said she had paid Sh80,000 for a bedsitter but had yet to receive a house.
“I paid Sh80,000 for a bedsitter, but I have not gotten anything. It’s only recently that I received a message saying the units were sold out,” she said.
She said applicants were not given adequate information about the allocation process or what would happen to their payments.
“We only received that message, without any information on who bought them or what we were supposed to do. We were not even given notice,” she added.
Residents question housing allocations
The residents are now demanding clarification on how units could be declared unavailable after they had already made payments towards them.
Some applicants said they received confirmation messages after making their deposits, reinforcing their belief that they had secured or qualified for the homes.
They want authorities to explain the status of their applications, how the allocation process was conducted and what will happen to the money they have already paid.
The affected residents also said the housing process had placed them under financial pressure.
Some reported taking loans to raise the required deposits, leaving them with outstanding financial obligations as they continue waiting for clarification on their housing applications.
Mukuru housing project
The complaints come against the backdrop of the government’s wider plan to transform informal settlements through the construction of affordable housing.
In 2025, President William Ruto handed over 4,500 homes to beneficiaries in Mukuru.
The broader project was expected to deliver 13,248 homes across several phases as part of efforts to replace informal settlements with modern housing units.
The programme has been presented by the government as a way of providing low-cost homeownership opportunities while improving living conditions for residents of informal settlements.
However, questions over eligibility, allocation and the treatment of residents displaced by construction have continued to generate controversy.
Displaced residents raise concerns
The latest complaints also revive concerns surrounding the displacement of Mukuru residents during preparations for affordable housing construction.
Residents staged protests last year following forced evictions from parts of the settlement to make way for further construction.
In December 2025, demolitions were also carried out in parts of Mukuru kwa Njenga.
Some residents alleged that security officers oversaw the demolitions despite a court order that they said barred the evictions.
The affected residents have argued that the affordable housing project should prioritise people from the local community who were displaced to make way for the developments.
They say it would be unfair for residents who surrendered their homes or land for the project to be excluded from the resulting housing opportunities.
