Housing and Urban Development Principal Secretary Charles Hinga faced a hostile reception in Kisumu after residents interrupted his pitch for the Affordable Housing Programme with chants of “uongo”, meaning lies.
The confrontation unfolded as Hinga told the gathering that Kenyans in the social housing category could secure a government-built house by paying KSh3,000 per month.
Footage from the event shows the crowd chanting “uongo” as the PS defended the payment figure. Hinga, however, refused to abandon his address and immediately pushed back against the residents’ scepticism.
“Ati mnasema ni uongo? Hakuna uongo. That is our selling price. And by the way, listen, you pay KSh3,000 and the house is yours,” Hinga said.
Hinga stands firm
The hostile response placed Hinga in the spotlight as he continued promoting one of President William Ruto’s flagship programmes in a region where the Kenya Kwanza administration has faced political resistance.
Despite the chants, Hinga maintained that the government was offering low-income residents an opportunity to move from renting to home ownership.
The PS did not provide a detailed breakdown of the KSh3,000 arrangement in the circulating clip, including the size of the house, the repayment period and other conditions attached to ownership.
His insistence that the figure was accurate came as the government stepped up efforts to persuade Kenyans to register for and take up completed affordable housing units.
During the Kisumu visit on Wednesday, July 8, 2026, Hinga urged Kenyans to disregard political messages discouraging them from buying houses under the programme.
Attacks opponents
Hinga also used his Kisumu tour to attack politicians who have threatened to scrap the Affordable Housing Programme should the opposition win the 2027 General Election.
He accused the programme’s opponents of misleading Kenyans and maintained that beneficiaries who acquire the houses would not lose them following a change of government.
“Some of the people that are lying and telling our people not to buy those houses because when they form government they shall take those houses away, washindwe kabisa,” Hinga said.
The PS further criticised residents who celebrated political declarations that the housing programme would be abolished, arguing that such a decision would deny low-income Kenyans an opportunity to own homes.
Hinga said access to housing was not a favour from the government but a constitutional right that the state was required to facilitate.
Reveals court battles
The PS also disclosed that his leadership of the housing programme had exposed him to numerous legal battles.
According to Hinga, he was defending more than 85 court cases linked to the programme, including a contempt of court matter in which he was expected to appear for sentencing on the day of his Kisumu visit.
“Right now I have over 85 cases that I am defending. This morning, I was supposed to be in court to be sentenced for contempt,” he said. (The Standard)
Hinga nevertheless insisted that the lawsuits and political criticism would not stop the government from implementing the programme.
He said the national government was investing KSh44.1 billion in Kisumu through the construction of affordable houses, 26 markets and 10 institutional housing projects.
During the same tour, Hinga commissioned Baby Pendo Botanical Park and participated in the launch of a KSh306 million non-motorised transport project alongside Kisumu Governor Anyang’ Nyong’o.
However, it was the “uongo” chants that became the defining moment of his visit, forcing the PS to defend the KSh3,000 housing message directly before an unconvinced crowd.
