President William Ruto has assured that all individuals displaced from riparian lands due to last year’s heavy floods will be the first beneficiaries of the government’s Social Housing initiative. Speaking in Njiru on Friday, Ruto emphasized that the government has documented every affected person and is committed to ensuring they receive decent housing.
“All persons who were displaced from riparian land will be the first to be given the Social Housing homes that we are now constructing. We have names of each and everyone who was displaced and where they were displaced from because of floods,” Ruto stated.
The President highlighted that at least 50,000 housing units will be constructed on reclaimed riparian land once the Nairobi Rivers regeneration project is completed. The initiative aims to restore Nairobi’s rivers by removing solid waste, setting up a 60-kilometer sewer line, and expanding the waterways.
“On the Nairobi River regeneration, we want Nairobi River to stop being a sewage by removing solid waste, constructing a 60-kilometre sewer line and making sure we have expanded the river by deepening it and constructing another 50,000 houses we have started building,” Ruto explained.
The Head of State has been on a five-day development tour of Nairobi City County, where he has commissioned and inspected various projects aimed at improving infrastructure and urban living conditions. His visits align with the broader goal of ensuring development reaches all parts of Kenya.
In May 2024, the Interior Ministry, then under Kithure Kindiki who now serves as Deputy President announced that 40,000 households, comprising approximately 181,000 people, had voluntarily vacated riparian reserves along Nairobi, Mathare, and Ngong Rivers, as well as other tributaries. The move was part of a government-led evacuation initiative to prevent further loss of life due to flooding.
To facilitate their transition, the government provided each displaced household with Sh10,000 in support to help secure alternative rental accommodation. At the time, Kindiki assured that these families would be prioritized for social housing under the Affordable Housing Programme.
With the Nairobi Rivers regeneration project progressing, affected families now look forward to resettlement in safe and affordable homes.
