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Eviction for Affordable Housing: South B residents protest low compensation by govt
24th December, 2025 04:43 PM
A group of residents from Marigoini, South B, in Nairobi County, have staged protests over the ongoing relocation program meant to clear space for the Affordable Housing project, decrying low compensation to facilitate their move.
Speaking on Tuesday, December 24, 2025, the residents claimed the facilitation process lacks transparency. They also raised concerns about the Ksh30,000 facilitation package, arguing that the amount was too little to help them resettle.
“Jana usiku watu walitumiwa pesa; hakuna kitu sisi tumeona. MCA Waithera amepea watu pesa. Watu hufanya kazi naye, lakini sisi kama wafanyakazi wa Marigoini hatuna kitu, na yeye mwenyewe amesema ikifika tarehe 25 hatukai huku,” one of the residents explained.
On the other hand, the area MCA, Waithera Chege, revealed that following a previous participation, the residents of Marigoini requested that they be facilitated to remove their things and only asked for transport allowance, which she maintained that all the residents will receive.
“When we did public participation, the residents of Marigoini requested that they be facilitated to remove their things to where they were moving to. So what they asked for was a transport allowance to move their goods and their children to the place they were moving to. This is the card that was issued then,” the area MCA said.
She went on explaining, “You see, this was the 19th of December 2011; every resident of Marigoini has this card. Everybody who says that they own ownership there has this card. But ask them, do they have a title deed? Whose name is indicated in the title deed? The title deed belongs to the government.”
Ruto slams Affordable Housing critics
The protests come just weeks after President William Ruto took a swipe at critics of his government’s affordable housing programme, dismissing their doubts as unfounded.
Speaking during his State of the Nation Address at Parliament on Thursday, November 20, 2025, Ruto said that the critics had wished that the affordable housing project would stall, but upon realising that it was on course, the conversation has shifted from doubting to everyone now asking how they can acquire a unit.
“Three years ago, when we said we would deliver affordable housing, the cynics dismissed it as a fantasy. When they realised we were serious, they called it impossible. And when we broke ground across the country, they suggested that the projects would stall,” Ruto said.
Affordable Housing demand
The President noted that those criticisms have since given way to a very different reality: overwhelming demand for the housing units.
“Today, those doubts have given way to a very different question from Kenyans everywhere: ‘How do I get one of those units?” he added.
Ruto highlighted the progress of the programme, citing multiple ongoing projects nationwide and emphasising the government’s commitment to making decent, affordable housing accessible to all citizens.
“Across the country, we are delivering the most extensive housing project in Kenya’s history: 230,000 homes,” Ruto stated.
