Sold out, but to whom? Mukuru families question unavailability of Affordable Housing units

Residents displaced by the Mukuru demolitions are questioning the allocation of Affordable Housing Programme units after some applicants who had selected their preferred homes were informed that the units were sold out.

The beneficiaries say they are now being left in uncertainty despite committing thousands of shillings towards home ownership, with some questioning what will happen to their applications and payments.

Messages seen by the Nation Media Group show that applicants were notified by Boma Yangu that their "preferred unit is sold out" and that their applications would be cancelled to allow them to apply for other available units or a different project.

The messages have sparked frustration among beneficiaries, who say they had already invested in the process with the expectation of securing permanent homes.

Catherine Waithira, one of the affected beneficiaries, says she paid Sh67,000 as a deposit for a one-bedroom house before receiving a message informing her that the unit was sold out.

"We were told to invest Sh67,000 for a one-bedroom house. Then a message came saying that my house had been sold. Now I have a problem: sold to whom? And yet we are the ones who were brought here?" she says.