The fate of more than 1.1 million jobs has become President William Ruto’s latest defence of the Affordable Housing Programme, as he warned that cancelling the initiative would have a direct impact on young Kenyans earning a living from it.
Ruto questioned the logic behind calls by some political leaders to abolish the housing programme, saying those pushing for its removal had failed to consider what would happen to workers once the projects stopped.
The President spoke at Eldoret State Lodge while meeting members of the Teso community from Busia County, where he also defended his administration’s decision to take major development projects to parts of the country that have previously received fewer large investments.
“You hear someone saying he is going to abolish housing. Huyo si ni mtu mjinga ya mwisho?” Ruto said.
He challenged politicians promising to end the programme to explain what they would do with the young people currently earning from it.
“You who is saying you are going to abolish housing, vijana 1.1 million wanaofanya kazi Affordable Housing Programme wanakuja kufanya kazi kwako?” he posed.
Ruto said the Affordable Housing Programme had created employment opportunities for young people and workers in construction, arguing that its critics were making political arguments without looking at the wider economic effects.
“Na unasikia mtu mkubwa anasimama hapo anasema atakuja kuabolish affordable housing. They don't know what they are talking about,” he said.
President William Ruto crowned as a Teso elder and bestowed the name “Ojokotau,” at State Lodge, Eldoret on August 29, 2026.
PHOTO/PCS
He warned leaders against making promises without first considering their consequences, telling them to weigh their words before addressing the public.
“Before you engage your mouth, engage your mind,” Ruto said.
The President then turned his attention to development projects outside the capital, using the planned Sh4 billion smart city in Malaba, Busia County, as an example of what he described as a more balanced approach to development.
He said some people had questioned why the government was investing such a large amount in Malaba and whether the area was suitable for such a project.
“There are people with a lot of hate asking why a smart city of Sh4 billion can be built in Busia. Now they are asking, where is this Malaba? Who is there for such a project to be built?” Ruto said.
He said the Teso community should not be treated differently when it comes to national development, insisting that residents of the region were entitled to government investment like other Kenyans.
“They are going to know that even the people of Teso are important and they are also Kenyans. And they deserve what they get from Kenya,” the President said.
Ruto said his administration was seeking to distribute development across the country, particularly to communities that had for years seen little of major government-funded projects.
“We have brought justice to our country. Justice for all the people of Kenya,” he said.
“There are a lot of people in Kenya who are seeing developments for the first time. They're hearing about a Sh1 billion project for the first time. They have never seen it before, and they have been in Kenya for 60 years. How unfair can we be?”
He also accused some of his political rivals of opposing government projects out of bitterness, alleging that some were being used to fight his administration’s development agenda.
Earlier during the visit, Ruto was installed as a Teso elder and given the name Ojokotau, meaning someone with a big heart.
He pledged to maintain cooperation with the Teso community and other regions as his administration pushes for development projects to reach more parts of the country.