Ruto: When I finally write my memoirs, Ngeno will have a chapter

President William Ruto has lauded members of the National Assembly’s Housing Committee for what he termed as extraordinary courage and resilience in steering the government’s Affordable Housing Programme through intense political and public scrutiny.

While paying tribute to the late Emurua Dikir MP Johana Ngeno, Ruto said the lawmaker has earned a special recognition for his role in steering the committee to ensure the success of the project.

He said the committee’s role in anchoring the ambitious project would be permanently recorded in his personal reflections on leadership.

“When finally I write my memoirs, the members of the housing committee in Parliament will have a chapter,” Ruto declared.

Until his death, Ngeno was the chairman of the committee.

He termed the project as one of the most difficult assignments he has undertaken since assuming office, saying it tested his resolve and leadership.

Speaking emotionally about the late MP when he visited home, Ruto said Ngeno’s passion and firmness stood out from the very beginning.

“As I said, Hon Ngeno was very passionate about what he did, and he never did half measures,” he said.

“When we rolled out housing, and as the vice chair of the committee has said, housing was one of the most difficult assignments that I have undertaken as President. It has tested my resilience as a person.”

The President revealed that when constituting parliamentary committees, he deliberately settled on Ngeno to chair the Housing Committee because he knew his determination would see the programme through.

“When I was going through the people who would chair the different committees, I settled on Ngeno because I knew if I persuaded him to do it, there would be no looking back,” he said.

According to Ruto, many leaders privately advised him to abandon the Affordable Housing Programme, warning that it would be politically costly and unpopular.

“For your information, many people came to me and told me, ‘Mr President, I think you should drop this thing. This thing is very difficult, this thing is going to make you unpopular.’ Of all the people who came to see me, Ngeno did not,” he said.

Instead, Ruto recalled, the late MP offered unwavering support.

“He told me, ‘My brother, I am here because this is the right thing to do. We will drive it.’ And it is true,” the President said, thanking members of the committee for standing firm despite criticism and public resistance.

Ruto noted that Housing Committee members faced hostility across the country as they defended the programme.

“They went to difficult places. They were heckled in different places. They were told off in different places,” he said.

Today, however, the President observed that the same lawmakers who were once sceptical are pushing for more housing units, markets and hostels in their constituencies.

“There is no Member of Parliament here who is not telling me, ‘We want an extra market,’ or ‘We want more hostels,’ or ‘There is no affordable housing in my corner.’ True or not true?” he posed.

The President described housing as the most consequential undertaking of his administration, citing massive financial commitments and economic impact.

“A few months ago, when I was in Ethiopia, I said we had signed contracts of $4 billion, and many people said that is not true, that is a lie. But let me tell you, today we have signed contracts worth Sh650 billion,” he said.

Ruto emphasised that the funds are not borrowed but generated from Kenya’s own resources. He added that the country’s skyline is rapidly changing, with construction growth increasing by 10 per cent and the sector’s contribution to GDP expanding.

He credited Parliament’s leadership for enabling the legal and regulatory framework that made the programme possible.

“Without Parliament, we would not have had the legislation and regulations that gave us the possibility to change our nation,” he said.

In his final tribute, the President reiterated that Johana Ngeno would forever be remembered as a central pillar of Kenya’s housing transformation.

“Johana Ngeno will have a special place in housing,” he said.