NAIROBI — Kenya’s top trade union has hit back at government claims that it approved new housing levy regulations, accusing officials of misleading the public and misusing workers’ funds.
The Central Organization of Trade Unions (COTU-K) is now demanding answers after Housing Principal Secretary Charles Hinga said the union was represented during the drafting of the Affordable Housing Programme rules. According to Hinga, COTU official Ernest Nadome sat on the committees that shaped the regulations.
But COTU Secretary General Francis Atwoli flatly denied that. “Nadome had no authority to speak on behalf of the union,” Atwoli said in a strongly worded statement released Thursday evening.
“At no point did COTU’s Executive Board, the only body with a mandate to approve such matters, meet to endorse these regulations,” Atwoli said. He challenged the housing ministry to produce minutes or written communication showing the union’s support.
The dispute comes days after President William Ruto defended expanding the scope of the housing levy, saying it would fund not only homes but also key infrastructure in new estates including markets, health clinics and police posts.
“We’re not just building houses,” Ruto said during a recent public address. “We are building communities.”
But COTU isn’t buying it. The union is warning that diverting levy funds to other government projects, especially those already covered under the national budget, amounts to a betrayal of workers.
“The levy was sold to the public as a fund to deliver decent, affordable housing,” Atwoli said. “What we are now seeing is a clear shift. That’s unacceptable.”
Principal Secretary Hinga defended the government’s move, saying the original legislation passed in 2018 already allowed for “social and physical infrastructure that make settlements work.”
In an interview earlier this week, he told reporters, “COTU was at the table. If there’s an issue, they should raise it through proper channels.”
But Atwoli maintains that COTU never received any formal invitation to participate in the drafting process. “If anything, we’ve been shut out,” he said.
The union has now called on President Ruto to rein in his officials and ensure that every shilling deducted from workers’ pay goes where it was promised into housing, not into unrelated projects.
This is the second time in as many months that the housing levy has drawn fire. Critics from civil society and opposition parties have also questioned the programme’s transparency and priorities.
As pressure mounts, the government is expected to issue a clarification in the coming days. For now, the question remains: who is really calling the shots on how the housing levy is spent and can the public trust the process?
