President William Ruto has challenged Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna’s pledge to allocate Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) units to police officers if the opposition takes power in the 2027 General Election, saying his administration has already made provision for 20,000 houses for members of the National Police Service. Ruto spoke on Monday, September 14, during his development tour of Kisumu, a day after Sifuna made the housing pledge at a Linda Mwananchi rally at Jacaranda Grounds in Nairobi. Sifuna had said the movement would allocate affordable housing units to police officers if it formed the next government. He made the pledge while thanking police officers for providing security during the movement’s Nairobi mobilisation activities.
Responding to the proposal, Ruto said the government was already implementing housing plans for police officers.
“I hear you saying that you will give the Affordable Housing units to the police. Let me give you the facts: we have already allocated 20,000 houses to the police.”
The President also dismissed Sifuna and his Linda Mwananchi colleagues as lacking the capacity to debate the housing programme, urging them to focus on other issues. Sifuna’s pledge came as Linda Mwananchi stepped up its political mobilisation ahead of the 2027 election. The Nairobi senator praised police officers for escorting the movement’s convoy during its Nairobi tour and said a future administration led by the movement would address their housing needs. His proposal places police welfare within the wider political debate over how government resources should be allocated to public servants. The housing pledge is also part of a broader set of promises emerging from the opposition movement. During the same Nairobi mobilisation, Embakasi East MP Babu Owino pledged to push for a minimum monthly salary of KSh100,000 for police officers if Linda Mwananchi formed the next government.
Ruto’s response reflects the government’s position that housing for security personnel is already incorporated into its affordable housing agenda. The President has previously said a portion of affordable housing units would be reserved for members of the disciplined services, including police, prison and military personnel. The latest remarks, however, specifically put the number of houses allocated to police officers at 20,000. The details of how many of those units have been completed, occupied or are still under construction were not provided in the remarks reported on Monday. That distinction is important because an allocation or planned construction programme does not necessarily mean all the houses are already available for occupation.
The exchange marks another political confrontation between Ruto and Sifuna over the Affordable Housing Programme. The two have previously disagreed over the design and suitability of housing projects being constructed under the programme, with Sifuna questioning whether some high-rise developments are appropriate for communities in rural areas. The latest dispute shifts the focus to police officers and who should benefit from government housing programmes.
For the administration, Ruto’s response presents police housing as an existing government commitment rather than a proposal awaiting implementation. For Linda Mwananchi, Sifuna’s pledge provides an alternative political promise as the movement seeks to build support ahead of 2027. The exchange is likely to keep affordable housing and the welfare of security personnel among the issues competing for attention as Kenya’s political parties and emerging movements prepare for the next General Election.