President William Ruto defended his affordable housing initiative in Mukuru slums in Nairobi County, noting that for many low-income families, the most transformative aspect was not the new house but having their own toilet.
Speaking during the presidential diaspora town hall engagement in London on Wednesday, July 2, 2025, Ruto reiterated that what residents celebrated most about their new social homes was not the houses themselves but finally having a private toilet.
He pointed out that this underscores the deep indignity of communal toilets used by multiple families and paid for, while many people with multiple bathrooms take private sanitation for granted.
“Many of the people we have given social houses in Mukuru, the best thing they celebrate is not the house but is the fact that they have a toilet of their own that is how serious it is and so much of indignity that sometimes people live in that we take for granted,” Ruto said.
“And that is why we ask silly questions like ‘Who told you we need houses?’ At least for once, you should appreciate that there are people who need them more than you think.”
Ruto on critics
The head of state further challenged those criticising his housing project to reflect on the realities of life in informal settlements, where residents pay to use communal toilets shared among five or more families and endure expensive, unreliable utilities and poor road access.
Sometimes you find some arguments of ‘who told this man that we needed houses’ I get those kind of things many times, but you see, ask yourself somebody who shares a toilet five other families, one that you have to pay to use, people who have no road, electricity that is much more expensive, water is expensive, living in Kenya For those of us living in houses that have two, three, four, or five toilets, you take them for granted. There are people who do not have a toilet,”he addded.
Ruto on Mukuru housing project
Ruto’s sentiments come weeks after he handed over the first batch of the housing project to the beneficiaries in Mukuru Kwa Njenga slums in Nairobi on Tuesday, May 20, 2025.
Speaking during the event, the head of state revealed that the project has injected Ksh11 billion into the Kenyan economy, adding that it will deliver more than 13,000 homes once completed.
“Once complete, the new Mukuru Housing project will deliver 13,248 homes. So far, it has injected Ksh11 billion directly into the construction and neighbourhood development,” he stated.
Elated by the outcome of the project, Ruto stated that the handing over of the 1,080 units to the beneficiaries marks the most consequential day in his political career.
“Today is one of the most consequential days of my political career that I can hand over keys to people who would otherwise have never had a chance in life,” he stated.
“We are giving you keys not just to open a door or a house but to open a home. We welcome you to dignity and a different life, and that is the commitment I made to the people of Kenya.”
