NAIROBI, Kenya — The Government’s Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) is reshaping Kibra, one of Nairobi’s most densely populated informal settlements, as Kenya seeks to move beyond long-standing descriptions of parts of the capital as “the largest slum in Africa.”
The AHP, a key pillar of the Government’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), is taking development to low-income communities while seeking to create dignified, inclusive and integrated urban settlements.
In Soweto Zone B, Kibra, Phase I of the housing project is already taking shape, with 18 high-rise residential blocks providing 4,054 modern housing units.
Phase II, covering Zones C and D, is also underway, with the contractor already on site and clearance works in progress. The phase is expected to deliver an additional 15,000 housing units, significantly expanding the project’s footprint.
David Musili, a Kibra-born beneficiary and consultant at the construction site, says families who were relocated to create room for the development have already been issued identification cards and are expected to be among the first beneficiaries of the completed housing units.
“This will ensure that the people who made way for the project are at the front of the transformation,” Musili said.
Beyond housing, the project is emerging as an important source of employment and enterprise opportunities, particularly for young people and women living in Kibra.
The development is also expected to improve living conditions by providing families with access to dignified housing while contributing to a safer, more secure and inclusive urban environment.
The project’s master plan incorporates a range of social and economic amenities, including commercial and retail spaces, community halls, Early Childhood Development (ECD) centres, health clinics, water and electricity networks, waste management facilities, sewerage systems and stormwater drainage.
The Government says such integrated developments are intended to address not only the housing deficit but also the broader socio-economic challenges facing residents of informal settlements.
For residents of Kibra, the transformation could mark a significant shift from decades of informal settlement living to planned urban communities with improved housing, infrastructure and access to essential services.
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