Azimio leader Raila Odinga has donated five acres of land in Kisumu to the government for the construction of affordable housing units.
Speaking on Thursday, May 29, President William Ruto made the announcement and thanked the former Prime Minister for the move.
“Today, I have come to Kisumu with Raila to launch another affordable housing program, through which we will build 750 additional houses.
"Raila Odinga has given us five acres of his land so that we can build affordable housing for the people of Kisumu to benefit. On behalf of the Government of Kenya, I thank Raila for donating the land to us," he said.
President Ruto kicked off his Nyanza tour on Thursday, where he is expected to launch several projects in Kisumu County and Homa County, where the Head of State will lead the Madarak Day celebrations.
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Notably, this comes months after Raila spoke on the Affordable Housing plan, claiming that it was lifted from Azimio la Umoja's manifesto.
Speaking in an interview on February 4, 2025, Raila said the plan was initially in good faith before the Ruto-led administration hijacked it.
"Affordable Housing is not bad. In fact, we had it in our Azimio manifesto. They (Kenya Kwanza) did not have it. They happen to have copied it from us. We appreciate that shelter is among the five basics stipulated in the constitution," he said.
Raila criticised Ruto's administration for lacking proper plans in place to implement the programme.
For instance, Raila argued that there ought to be decanting sites for people to settle before they are displaced from the areas where the houses are built.
He also criticised the government for using similar designs in the construction of the houses.
"It should not be the case of one-size-fits-all, that you have one design all over. It depends. In other places, you would build bungalows, in other areas the citizens partner with the government by giving land and labour, and the government avails materials, and the construction work is done by the people.
"Such a thing as Affordable Housing is a major policy that will affect people's lives, and therefore, you need to engage the citizenry and convince them that they will benefit from the programme. You have to assess if everyone needs the houses," he said.
