Kenya: Nairobi's Largest Informal Settlement Is Getting an Upgrade. but Who Will Actually Benefit From New Apartments?

What the report says

AllAfrica, carrying analysis from The Conversation Africa, reports that redevelopment work is changing parts of Kibera, Nairobi’s best-known informal settlement, with apartment blocks and new roads being built under President William Ruto’s affordable housing programme. The programme is intended to produce 200,000 homes a year across social, affordable and market-rate categories, but government figures cited in the report show 8,367 units had been completed by March 2026 since Ruto took office in September 2022.

The article says supporters view the construction as overdue investment in housing and basic urban infrastructure. Critics question both the financing model — including a 1.5% levy on employees’ gross monthly salary, matched by employers, and a similar charge on people outside formal work — and whether the units will be affordable and fairly allocated to lower-income households.

The central concern is who will benefit. The State Department for Housing and Urban Development has registered residents and issued Makao Bora cards, but the report says residents facing demolition remain unsure whether registration guarantees a unit or whether they can meet future costs. The analysis notes that past upgrading projects in Nairobi have improved housing, sanitation and roads, but have sometimes led to higher rents or maintenance costs that pushed original residents out.

The report also highlights the social risks of relocation. In April 2026, more than 10,000 residents in Kibera’s Soweto Zones C and D were reportedly given 13 days to leave areas marked for construction and offered KSh60,000 in assistance. The author argues Kibera’s upgrade will ultimately be judged not only by completed buildings, but by whether long-term residents can afford to remain.