Kenya is facing a deepening homelessness crisis, with thousands of families forced to live on the streets or in makeshift shelters as poverty, joblessness, and inadequate housing collide. In Nairobi, sprawling informal settlements like Kibera have become home to countless families struggling to survive amid rising living costs. Many, like 35-year-old mother of three Joyce Muthoni, have been on the streets for years. “It gets very cold at night. Most of the time we are hungry, and the police beat us at night,” she said, describing the harsh reality of street life.
The 2018 National Census of Street Families estimated that 46,639 people live on the streets across Kenya a number experts say has likely grown since. The World Bank reports that nearly 40% of Kenyans live below the national poverty line, forcing many into unsafe, overcrowded settlements or homelessness. In Kibera, 22-year-old single mother Jane Caren Knight pays KSh 2,000 ($17) a month for a leaking mud-walled home. “If you delay rent even for a day, the landlord locks the door or throws out your things,” she said.
Housing experts say Kenya’s housing deficit now exceeds 2 million homes, with an annual demand of over 250,000 units. The government’s Affordable Housing Programme, which aims to build over 100,000 homes, is a key part of efforts to bridge this gap. George Omondi, Director of Housing and Infrastructure at the State Department of Housing, says the crisis calls for “a concerted effort by government and partners to expand social housing, where costs are subsidized so low-income earners can buy in.”
President William Ruto has also urged global collaboration, proposing a multilateral coalition to address housing shortages worldwide. “The global housing crisis is too vast for any single country to resolve,” he said last month. For families like Muthoni’s, the hope remains simple: a roof, a job, and a fair chance at dignity. “We are living like refugees in our own country,” she said. “If we can get jobs, we can raise our children and get off the streets.”
