Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has criticised President William Ruto over remarks appearing to challenge opponents of his housing programme, accusing the Head of State of dismissing the concerns of millions of Kenyans living in informal settlements.
Sifuna responded after President Ruto said some people were opposed to his affordable housing agenda because they wanted Kenyans to remain in slums.
Speaking during a public engagement, President Ruto said his administration was determined to transform living conditions for ordinary Kenyans despite criticism from some quarters.
“Kuna watu ambao wanatueleza ati wananchi waendelee kukaa kwa slums ati kwa sababu kuku haiwezi kupandishwa ghorofa ya tano,” President Ruto said.
The President appeared to use the example to argue that critics of high-rise affordable housing were resisting modern urban development and denying low-income families better living conditions.
But Sifuna, a vocal critic of the government’s housing levy and affordable housing programme, accused President Ruto of reducing a serious policy debate into a simplistic argument.
The ODM Secretary-General argued that the issue was not whether Kenyans deserved better housing, but whether government projects were affordable, transparent and responsive to citizens’ needs.
Sifuna has previously questioned the cost of the Affordable Housing Programme, the compulsory housing levy imposed on workers and employers, and the manner in which projects are being rolled out.
He has maintained that Kenyans should not be forced to finance a programme whose benefits and ownership structures remain unclear.
The senator has also challenged the government to explain how ordinary workers struggling with the high cost of living will afford the houses being constructed under the programme.
The exchange comes amid a wider political battle over President Ruto’s flagship affordable housing agenda, which his administration has placed at the centre of its development plans.
The government argues that the programme will create jobs in the construction sector, expand home ownership and replace informal settlements with modern housing estates.
President Ruto has repeatedly defended the initiative, saying millions of Kenyans living in informal settlements deserve decent homes and that critics should not deny them that opportunity.
However, opposition leaders have accused the government of imposing policies without sufficient public consultation and have questioned whether the programme is affordable for low-income households.
Sifuna, who has emerged as one of the leading voices of opposition to the Kenya Kwanza administration, has continued to push for what he describes as citizen-centred policies ahead of the 2027 General Election.
The latest exchange adds to growing political disagreements between the President and opposition figures over taxation, housing, the cost of living and the direction of the economy.
