For many Kenyans, owning a home is the ultimate dream—a sanctuary, a place to call their own.
And in a country where the cost of living is skyrocketing and rent prices continue to climb, the government’s promise of affordable housing under President William Ruto’s administration was therefore a beacon of hope for young families living in Nairobi.
Thousands of young Kenyans eagerly seized the opportunity, believing that, at last, they could secure a future free from the unpredictability of landlords and rent hikes.
But for the homeowners of Boma Yangu Park Road, that dream is quickly unraveling into a nightmare.
The flagship affordable housing project launched under President Uhuru Kenyatta, and promoted by the current Ruto administration was once hailed as a milestone in Kenya’s housing sector. It however has now become a source of frustration, disillusionment, and broken promises.
A Protest for Answers
And now the frustrated homeowners have threatened to take to the streets to stage a peaceful protest against the National Housing Corporation (NHC).
Their demands are simple: answers and action on a long list of unresolved issues that have plagued them since moving into their homes in 2021.
Their grievances are not new.
In a letter dated July 11, 2024, addressed to NHC Managing Director David Mathu Njuguna, the residents had previously laid out their concerns—lack of water, security failures, delays in title deed issuance, and the absence of a legally mandated management company to oversee the estate. The letter was met with silence.
“It has been more than two years since we signed our purchase agreements, yet NHC has failed to establish a proper management company as required under the Sectional Properties Act (2020). Instead, they have appointed on-site managers who have only exacerbated our frustrations. We demand an accountable management company that will protect our rights as homeowners,” the letter read in part.
After learning of their plans to stage the protest, the NHC has now requested a week to address the concerns.
Where is the Service Charge Going?
One of the most contentious issues among homeowners is the mystery surrounding service charge collections.
Since May 2021, each of the 1,370 homeowners has been paying Ksh 3,000 per month, totaling a staggering Ksh 49,320,000 per year. Despite this hefty sum, residents see no evidence of where their money is going.
The estate is in a state of disrepair. Cleaning schedules are inconsistent, and sanitation workers frequently abandon their duties due to unpaid wages.
“We have seen the workers go months without pay. When they down their tools, garbage piles up, and the estate becomes a health hazard. Where is all our money going?” a resident lamented.
A recent video report by Citizen TV further highlighted the extent of the welfare concerns with residents revealing that they are being forced to buy water from street vendors since the taps in the estate are dry.
And after buying the water, they are not allowed to use the building lifts to carry the water to their houses. They therefore have to incur extra costs of paying someone to carry the water up the long flights of stairs.
The source of the water from the street vendors is also not known, thus posing more questions on safety among the users, some whom have small children. Suffice to say, contaminated water is a breeding ground for cholera, dysentery, typhoid and diarrhoea – and therefore, this is a disaster waiting to happen.
Security Concerns and Rising Crime
Security at Park Road estate is also in shambles. Cases of vandalism, drug use, hooliganism, and the presence of undocumented foreign nationals have been on the rise.
Despite changing security firms manning the estate, the residents complained that nothing has improved.
“The new security company simply rehired the same ineffective guards from the previous firm. Nothing has changed. We need a robust CCTV surveillance system and a monitoring room to ensure our safety,” another resident stated.
Title Deed Delays: A Lingering Limbo
For many, owning a home means financial sacrifices—taking out bank loans, mortgages, and making tough lifestyle adjustments. The result? A home with proof of ownership being a simple document – a title deed.
However, four years after moving in, Park Road homeowners are still waiting for their title deeds, despite the Ministry of Lands having completed the necessary geo-referencing and sectional plan registrations.
“We are paying mortgages, service charges, and additional costs for landscaping and security, yet we still don’t have title deeds. This is an injustice, and we demand immediate action,” their letter to NHC emphasized.
A Showpiece with Hidden Cracks
At first glance, Park Road estate looks like a success story. The buildings, coated in fresh grey, cream, and orange paint, appear well-maintained. But residents claim this is just a façade.
“That’s just Block A. They gave it a new coat of paint to impress visitors. But if you really want to see the reality, go to Block D,” a tenant quipped. Our reporters were denied access to block D.
A Broken Promise on Affordable Housing
For a government aggressively pushing the affordable housing agenda, this planned protest is a significant setback as their plan is to register more Kenyans in the plan, not to see Kenyans protesting.
The Park Road project, launched in 2020 as part of former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s Big Four Agenda, was meant to be a model for affordable housing in Kenya.
The estate, comprising 1,370 units, was the first completed under the initiative, paving the way for additional projects in Shauri Moyo, Embakasi, and Athi River.
At the time of the launch, Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga revealed that over 310,378 Kenyans had registered for the Boma Yangu program, contributing over Ksh 463 million.
The Park Road units were allocated under a 60-40 ratio, with 60% (822 units) going to police officers and Kenya Defence Forces personnel and 40% to civilians.
While former President Kenyatta had promised 500,000 affordable housing units by 2022, his successor, President William Ruto, has continued the initiative—albeit through controversial means, including the introduction of a compulsory housing levy.
Despite government efforts to promote the program, results have been mixed. Some regions have seen progress, while others have stalled due to financial and logistical challenges.
Others like the Jevanjee Bachelors Project in Ngara have also been shrouded in controversy after the developer took out a loan using public land.
The controversial real estate developer, Jabavu Village (K) Limited, a subsidiary of the Hass Petroleum Group charged a public title deed of Jevanjee affordable housing project measuring 8.9 acres and obtained a Sh1.9billion loan facility at a time when the firm was fighting bankruptcy suit over Sh611million debt owed to Credit Bank Limited.
To fight the insolvency suit against Credit Bank, Jabavu which was reeling in a financial crisis listed expected Sh7.7 billion proceeds from the Jeevanjee housing project projected safety net bounce back to financial stability.
A quick check on this project also shows that this project has stalled and no construction works seem to be ongoing. It is also not clear when Kenyans who invested in this project should expect to own homes.
In summary, while the Affordable Housing initiative has created jobs in construction, many Kenyans remain skeptical about whether they will ever own a home under the scheme.
Some argue the program benefits the wealthy and politically connected rather than ordinary citizens. As for the pioneers of the affordable housing project at Park Road and other sites, the dream of homeownership is quickly turning into a nightmare.
