President William Ruto on Sunday, March 24, promised Bahati residents in Nairobi that they would not be rendered homeless due to the affordable housing units penned to be constructed in the area.
Speaking during Palm Sunday service at ACK Emmanuel Church Bahati, Makadara, Ruto revealed that instead, the government would pay two-year rent for the residents.
He explained that it was necessary for a section of Bahati residents to be relocated so as to pave the way for the construction of 8,000 housing units.
“There will be no eviction, every Kenyan will be given somewhere to live as they wait for the houses to be built, that is our job,” he promised.
“We will give you money for two years you rent a place then when we finish the house you occupy your house.”
Initially, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja had noted that the residents unlike other Kenyans would not be asked to pay for the new housing units.
He explained that the government was cognizant of the fact that the residents had stayed in county-owned houses for years.
“We are not giving out the houses for free. We will consider the years the residents have been paying rent as a mortgage,” he explained.
Ruto announced that the process would kickstart at the end of the year and be completed within twenty-four months.
The President noted that the two years rent would be paid in a lump sum with the residents being given cash to rent the houses.
It was not revealed how much each recipient would receive but the President reiterated that the whole process was voluntary.
The President envisions constructing 200,000 housing units every year within a span of five years.
