Residents of Mukuru kwa Reuben in Nairobi are demanding answers over the allocation of Affordable Housing units after some people who say they had already made payments were informed that the houses were sold out.
The affected residents said they had deposited money towards securing units under the government’s Affordable Housing Programme and received confirmation messages after making their payments.
However, they were recently surprised to receive messages informing them that the units were no longer available.
One resident said she had paid Ksh80,000 for a bedsitter and was now questioning what had happened to the house she believed she had secured.
“I paid Ksh80,000 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 added that the residents were not given details explaining what had happened to their applications or who had been allocated the houses.
“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 said.
The complaints have left several residents seeking clarification on how homes could be declared sold out after they had already contributed deposits.
They want authorities to explain whether their applications were processed and, if so, why they were not allocated the units they had been paying for.
Some residents said the situation had placed them under financial pressure because they had borrowed money to raise the required deposits.
They had expected that making the payments and receiving confirmation would put them in a position to eventually receive their homes.
Instead, they said they are now left waiting for answers while still having to deal with the loans they took to finance their applications.
The concerns have also brought renewed attention to the government’s Affordable Housing Programme in Mukuru.
In 2025, President William Ruto handed over 4,500 completed homes to beneficiaries in the area. The wider project was expected to deliver 13,248 homes through several phases.
The government has presented the programme as part of efforts to improve living conditions in informal settlements by providing residents with modern and more affordable housing.
However, the project has faced concerns from some Mukuru residents over displacement and the allocation of homes.
Residents have previously said they were promised that people from the local community who were affected by the housing project would benefit from the new units.
The latest complaints come after protests linked to evictions in Mukuru, where some residents opposed the removal of families from areas targeted for further construction.
In December 2025, demolitions were also carried out in parts of Mukuru kwa Njenga. Some residents claimed that security officers were involved in the evictions despite a court order they said had barred the demolitions.
The latest dispute has therefore placed fresh focus on how the housing units are allocated and how applicants are informed about the status of their payments and applications.
The affected residents are now calling for transparency, saying they deserve clear answers on where their money went, what happened to their applications and who was ultimately allocated the houses they had hoped to occupy.
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