Officials from the Affordable Housing Board verify details of the first 1,080 beneficiaries at the new Mukuru Estate as house allocation picks up pace/COURTESY In Mukuru kwa Njenga, hope is no longer a distant dream; it is rising in concrete and steel.
From makeshift shacks to modern apartments, the story of the informal settlement is shifting, and for many, the dream of a better life is finally coming true.
Mukuru kwa Njenga, located in Nairobi's Embakasi South area, has turned into a hive of activity as residents prepare to move into newly completed houses under the government’s Affordable Housing Programme (AHP).
At the new Mukuru Housing Estate, workers are racing against time to complete final touches on the units, while verification and allocation exercises gather pace.
A total of 1,080 households from the larger Mukuru kwa Njenga informal settlement are expected to receive their keys and take occupancy in the coming days.
President William Ruto is set to preside over the event next week.
Geoffrey Odhiambo, chairman of Mukuru kwa Njenga’s Riara village beneficiaries, has described the transformation as nothing short of remarkable.
"For me, if you ask me, this is our Konza City in Mukuru. The other one is just a dream because I have never seen such magnificent infrastructure in my hood. We take pride," he said in the interview.
Odhiambo said life for the residents will drastically improve, calling the new housing a huge leap from the past.
“I only used to see such beautiful houses that accommodate many people on social media from developed countries like Korea and so on, but now it is here in our community," he stated.
"We take pride that we are going to live in such a magnificent environment.”
He traced the journey of the affordable housing project to public participation meetings held last year that helped align the community to the process.
“Life will never be the same again. I know it will be very different here; it is a big upgrade from what we are used to. We’ve gone a level higher."
"We started the process a while back, and now we are at the stage of signing agreements. The lawyer told us that once we sign, they will process the ownership documents for us,” he added.
Final touches underway at an affordable housing project block in Mukuru ahead of handover of over 1,000 units/COURTESY Odhiambo, who refers to himself as the “Field Marshal” for Mukuru Riara beneficiaries, oversees coordination on the ground.
As of Monday, 970 of the 1,080 households had already been verified.
"You know Mukuru is big; we have Riara, Murugoine, and Kwa Reuben. All the beneficiaries are drawn from the wider Mukuru area, but I mainly handle those from Riara,” he explained.
Beneficiaries say the dream of dignified, affordable housing is finally within reach.
Only water and electricity will be paid separately, based on individual usage.
"Affordable housing has truly lived up to its name, it's genuinely within reach for many of us,” he said.
Beyond shelter, residents say they benefitted immensely from the project.
The construction of the 13,264 units created hundreds of local jobs out of the total 4,000 jobs.
The President had instructed that the contractor prioritises local labour, and that is exactly what happened,” Odhiambo noted.
“Even now, as the estate comes to life, we believe more opportunities like garbage collection should go to our people.”
Mary Kamau from the Affordable Housing Board explained that the estate is a mixed development with 13,248 units.
Social housing for those earning Sh20,000 and below, affordable housing for incomes up to Sh149,000, and units for upper middle-income earners.
She added that beneficiaries underwent a rigorous process, from enumeration, registration, and application through Boma Yangu, to verification and final allocation.
For many residents of Mukuru, these keys unlock more than just homes; they open the door to dignity, stability, and a renewed sense of community.
