Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Saturday, July 1, detailed how he bought his one-acre Karen home valued at Ksh 80 million.
Speaking during the Ushirika Day event held at State House, the DP indicated that he bought the land at Ksh 850,000.
While he did not reveal the exact year of purchase or the specific phase of his life during which he made the transaction, he indicated that was the value of the land at the time and decided to make the investment as he wanted a home for his family in Nairobi.
Gachagua divulged that the funds used for the land purchase were a portion of his savings accumulated through a Savings and Credit Cooperative Organization (Sacco).
Following the purchase, Gachagua explained that the value of the land grew to Ksh80 million - excluding the value of his house.
The DP underlined the importance of cooperatives in helping Kenyans save for their future adding that he was planning to build a retirement home using his savings held in a Sacco.
"I am a beneficiary of Saccos and I was a member of the Magereza Society. After saving, I took a loan of Ksh850,000 and bought a one-acre plot in Karen.
"Without the house on its own now, that plot is Ksh80 million and therefore, I also want to go back to the Sacco and build a retirement home," Gachagua stated.
On his part, President William Ruto echoed Gachagua's sentiments adding that the government was seeking to work with cooperatives to enable Kenyans to save, find access to credit and spur economic growth.
"To set our economy upon a firm growth trajectory we identified the cooperative movement as the most potent instrument for executing the required transformation across many sectors. That is why I dedicated a ministry to this industry," he stated.
The value of land in Karen has increased exponentially over the years due to the high demand from affluent individuals and the various investments made in the leafy suburb.
According to Hass Consult, a real estate company, the value of an acre of land in Karen was estimated at Ksh63 million between January and April 2023.
A report published by the company shows that the value of land in the posh estate in the last 10 years grew 1.82 fold.
"A renewal of development activity has been the driving reason for land price recovery and 10 out of 18 Nairobi suburbs now have prices above their pre-pandemic rates,” read the report in part.
