President William Ruto with construction workers in Nandi hills/PCSPresident William Ruto has mocked criticism of his Affordable Housing Programme by joking that workers should install lifts in high-rise apartments to help residents take their chickens upstairs.
Ruto made the remarks on Saturday while inspecting the construction of the 729-unit Nandi Hills Affordable Housing Project in Nandi County, on the seventh day of his North Rift development tour.
“Msisahau kuweka lift ndiyo tupandishe kuku,” the President told workers, drawing laughter and reviving a debate sparked by Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s criticism of multi-storey affordable housing.
Sifuna had questioned the suitability of high-rise housing for communities whose households keep chickens, asking how residents would take the birds to upper floors.
“As people from the Western Region, we cannot live in places where our chicken cannot enter. How will our chicken get to the 12th floor of an affordable housing unit?” Sifuna said in July.
Ruto has repeatedly dismissed the argument, accusing his critics of focusing on ridicule instead of offering alternatives to the government’s housing plan.
During the Nandi Hills visit, the President defended the programme, saying it was creating employment, expanding access to housing and stimulating economic activity across the country.
“Construction of houses is going on in every part of Kenya. Once you are done with this project, I have planned another. The construction of houses will continue for the next 30 years,” Ruto said, according to remarks reported during the visit.
He also told opponents not to expect to stop the initiative, insisting that the government would continue implementing the projects despite political criticism.
The President said the housing programme was part of a broader investment in infrastructure intended to transform towns, create jobs and open up business opportunities.
“Across the county, we are investing Sh18 billion to build 4,000 housing units, student hostels with a capacity of 7,000 beds and 15 modern markets, creating jobs, supporting businesses and transforming lives,” he said.
The Nandi Hills project is among the housing developments being implemented under the Affordable Housing Programme, a flagship initiative of the Kenya Kwanza administration.
The government has defended the programme as a way of addressing the housing deficit while employing young people involved in construction and related industries.
However, the initiative has faced criticism from opposition leaders over the housing levy, the cost of the programme and whether the projects adequately address the needs of low-income households living in informal settlements.
Sifuna has argued that the country’s slum problem is closely linked to low incomes, maintaining that many Kenyans cannot afford decent housing because they lack sufficient money.
Ruto has countered that housing construction also generates income by employing workers, arguing that the programme addresses both housing shortages and unemployment.
The exchange comes as the President continues his North Rift tour, during which he has launched and inspected development projects while promoting his administration’s record ahead of the 2027 General Election.
