- President William Ruto said the Affordable Housing Programme now offers Sharia compliant financing, allowing Muslim Kenyans to buy homes without interest.
- Ruto said the option was introduced under the Affordable Housing Act, 2024, to make the programme more inclusive and address low uptake among Muslims.
- The President said affordable housing projects are being rolled out across all counties, including Garissa, Mandera and Lamu.
President William Ruto has announced that the government’s Affordable Housing Programme now includes a Sharia-compliant financing option, enabling Muslim Kenyans to purchase homes without paying interest in line with Islamic law.
Speaking on August 5, 2026, during a meeting with Muslim sheikhs at State House, Nairobi, Ruto said the move was aimed at addressing concerns that had contributed to low uptake of affordable housing units among members of the Muslim community.
He noted that many Muslims had been hesitant to apply for the houses because conventional home financing is interest based, a practice prohibited under Islamic teachings.
Ruto said the government introduced the Sharia-compliant financing model under the Affordable Housing Programme following the enactment of the Affordable Housing Act, 2024, to make the initiative more inclusive and accessible to all Kenyans.
“There is a Sharia-compliant product in this project. As Muslims, you can purchase the houses because they have complied with Islamic law,” he said.
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The president said the Affordable Housing Programme extends beyond Nairobi, noting that the government has constructed housing units in all counties, including those in Northern Kenya.
“If you go to Garissa, the latest estate there is affordable housing. We are not building affordable housing in Nairobi alone. There are affordable houses in Mandera, Lamu and other counties,” he said.
Ruto said the government would not have invested in affordable housing projects in predominantly Muslim counties without ensuring residents have access to financing options that comply with Islamic principles.
He added that the Affordable Housing Act allows all Kenyans to purchase houses, noting that the Sharia-compliant financing option was introduced to ensure eligible citizens are not locked out of the programme on the basis of their religious beliefs.
His remarks come as the government steps up efforts to encourage more Kenyans to register for the Affordable Housing Programme, one of the Kenya Kwanza administration’s flagship initiatives.
By Frank Mugwe
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