Housing PS Charles Hinga Slams Political Sabotage of Affordable Housing Initiative
Principal Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, Charles Hinga, has issued a robust defense of the government’s Affordable Housing Programme (AHP), lashing out at opposition politicians for allegedly misrepresenting the initiative to the public. Speaking during the launch of Phase Two of the Kisumu Non-Motorised Transport Project alongside Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o, the PS urged Kenyans to ignore rhetoric intended to discourage them from pursuing homeownership. He characterized the political pushback as a calculated attempt to deny citizens the life-changing opportunity to transition from renting to owning property, driven more by political rivalry than by substantive policy concerns.
Central to Hinga’s address was the legal assurance that property acquired under the AHP is inviolable. He explicitly sought to quell anxieties stoked by critics who claim that these housing units could be repossessed by future administrations. Responding to these fears, Hinga affirmed that once a Kenyan legally purchases a government-sponsored home, that property is protected by the Constitution. He underscored that the right to private property is a foundational pillar of the Kenyan legal system, rendering any suggestions of future state seizure baseless fearmongering designed to undermine a landmark government project.
The Principal Secretary drew attention to the inherent hypocrisy he perceives among the program’s most vocal critics. He specifically highlighted a sitting senator who currently benefits from a state-subsidized mortgage—offered at a competitive 3% fixed rate over 20 years—while simultaneously working to block low-income earners from accessing similar financial pathways to homeownership. Hinga questioned why certain leaders feel entitled to enjoy taxpayer-funded housing benefits while actively sabotaging efforts to make comparable dignity available to the underprivileged, describing such behavior as a display of elitism and a disregard for the struggles of ordinary, working-class Kenyans.
The administrative burden of these political maneuvers is significant, with Hinga revealing that he is currently managing over 85 active court cases centered on the housing agenda. He noted that the vast majority of these legal challenges have been initiated by the same political class aiming to derail the program. Despite the persistent litigation, the PS remains steadfast, insisting that these legal hurdles are not prompted by financial impropriety or administrative malpractice, but rather by an ideological and political opposition determined to stall a project that exclusively benefits the poor and vulnerable.
Addressing the program’s accessibility, Hinga emphasized its inclusive design, which caters to citizens across various income brackets. In a bid to debunk notions that the units are out of reach for the poorest members of society, he reiterated the government’s policy to waive deposit requirements for individuals earning less than KSh20,000. By eliminating these financial barriers, the government aims to ensure that the dream of homeownership is not an exclusive privilege for the wealthy but a tangible reality for the many, particularly as the state grapples with the pressures of rapid urban migration.
Ultimately, Hinga linked the survival of the Affordable Housing Programme to Kenya’s long-term economic stability and social welfare. With approximately 800,000 young citizens entering the job market every year, the government views the expansion of decent housing as an essential strategy to curb the proliferation of informal settlements and tackle the urban housing deficit. As the state intensifies its construction efforts, the PS reiterated that the administration remains undeterred by political antagonism, committed to delivering on one of its core mandates to elevate living standards and secure the dignity of Kenyan families through the pride of permanent home ownership.