One room, no light, no water- Now a home of his own

“No clean water. No toilets. No electricity. No well-planned living environment.”

That is how Pastor Evans Moseti describes the one-room mabati house he has called home for the past nine years, its blue iron-sheet walls barely holding back Nairobi’s harsh realities.

Brief as his description is, it carries the full weight of what it means to live without proper shelter, dignity, or safety in Kenya’s capital.

After nearly a decade in the heart of Mukuru kwa Njenga informal settlement, Pastor Moseti is finally preparing to leave behind a life marked by poverty, raw sewage, uncollected garbage, and constant insecurity.

Now, he looks ahead with hope, as one of the first beneficiaries of the New Mukuru Affordable Housing Estate, he is about to unlock the door to something he’s never had before: a home of his own.

A devoted Christian and father of three, Pastor Moseti says that despite enduring abject poverty, he never lost faith.

He consistently prayed for God to deliver his family from the harsh conditions of the slum into a better home.

That prayer is now being answered.

With the completion of the New Mukuru Housing Estate just around the corner, Pastor Moseti and his wife, Malkia Moraa, are preparing to start a new chapter.

The couple has been selected among the first beneficiaries of the government’s Affordable Housing Programme.

Speaking outside his one-room mabati structure, Pastor Moseti described the moment he received the life-changing news.

“As you can see, life here is not easy, it is tough, but we are persevering,” he said. “There are many challenges we go through, including low income and deep poverty.”

“I live here with my entire family in this single room,” he said, pointing to a corner of the 10×10 foot space. “This is both our kitchen and our bedroom. We all live here.”

He pays Ksh 2,500 per month in rent, an amount that excludes both water and electricity.

Water is bought by the jerrycan, at five shillings during the low season, and up to 20 shillings during times of scarcity.

Despite these conditions, Pastor Moseti says his faith compels him to remain hopeful and to encourage others around him.

“As a pastor, I must give hope, not just to my family, but to my neighbours and the community.”

His journey to a better life began last November during a baraza (public forum) called by the local chief and attended by grassroots leaders, including the area Ward Representative.

It was at this meeting that the community first heard about the Affordable Housing Project and how to apply through the e-Citizen platform.

“Later, we were called for another meeting at Mukuru Community Primary School, where the application process began,” he recalls, joyfully.

“Let me tell you, we moved from zero to heroes! We are being celebrated here,” he adds, as his wife busily packs their belongings in preparation for what he calls “the move of our lives.”

“It was my first time applying for affordable housing, and I was successful,” says Moseti, a pastor at Maranatha Faith Assemblies in Mukuru kwa Njenga’s Riara area.

“Let me tell you, I am soon going to be a landlord,” he says with a smile.

Unlike his current home, the monthly rent for his new unit will contribute towards owning the house.

Like many of his new neighbours, Pastor Moseti will pay Ksh 3,800 a month, an amount structured as instalments over 25 years.

“When I pay my rent, I’ll actually be buying the house. This is the legacy I want to leave my children,” he says.

The Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) is a key pillar of President William Ruto’s Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), which aims to deliver thousands of new housing units across the country.

President Ruto is expected to officially launch the New Mukuru Housing Estate today in Embakasi South Constituency, Nairobi City County.