President William Ruto on Thursday criticised Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna over comments he made about the Affordable Housing Programme.
The Head of State’s remarks came after Sifuna, who had appeared on a radio interview, dismissed the housing programme as inconsequential to the common citizen.
Speaking during a live interview on Mulembe FM, a Luhya-language radio station, Sifuna jokingly questioned the suitability of high-rise affordable housing for some communities.
The Nairobi Senator playful swipe at the affordable housing concept, quipping that chickens would have a hard time accessing the upper floors.
“They have built 12-storey affordable housing units in Funyula. We Luhyas can’t live in a place where our chickens can’t. Tell me, boss, how will your chicken get to the 12th floor?” Sifuna posed.
In response, President Ruto dismissed Senator Sifuna’s remarks on the programme as absurd and lacking in good judgement.
“You are telling us not to build affordable housing because chickens cannot be taken to the 17th floor. How foolish do you think we are? Some people have no sense. Can someone who says such things really be considered sensible?” President Rut questioned.
File image of Edwin Sifuna.
The President maintained that the housing programme is designed to address Kenya’s housing shortage while creating employment opportunities.
Sifuna hit back at President Ruto’s criticism and defended his remarks by referencing the Luhya community’s poultry-keeping culture and Nyandarua Senator John Methu’s potato farming roots.
“Arguing with me about chicken matters is like arguing with Methu about potatoes,” Sifuna responded to President Ruto.
Senator Sifuna, who leads the Linda Mwananchi Movement, has been at the forefront of opposing the Kenya Kwanza administration.
