Uhuru: Frank Ireri not credited enough for affordable housing

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta speaking during the funeral service of former Housing Finance CEO Frank Ireri at the Karura Community Chapel in Nairobi, October 31, 2025. /X

Former President Uhuru Kenyatta has lamented that some of the individuals who laid the intellectual groundwork for Kenya’s affordable housing programme have not received due recognition.

Speaking on Friday during the funeral service of his long-time friend and former Housing Finance Group chief executive Frank Ireri, Uhuru said Ireri was among the unsung pioneers whose work shaped what has become one of Kenya’s key development pillars.

“A lot of what we hear today, people talking about affordable housing — people don’t recognise the legwork people like Frank did,” Uhuru said during the memorial service held at Karura Community Chapel in Nairobi.

Ireri, who died on October 26 while receiving treatment for cancer at the Nairobi Hospital, was 63.

The former HF boss is widely credited with transforming Kenya’s mortgage market by introducing products that opened home ownership to lower-income earners.

Beyond his work at Housing Finance, Ireri also chaired the board of Habitat for Humanity Kenya, a non-governmental organisation that supports marginalised groups to access decent housing.

He further served as a non-executive director at Centum Real Estate, reflecting his enduring commitment to the property and housing sector.

Uhuru said Ireri’s contribution to the development of housing finance and policy frameworks was substantial, even if not publicly acknowledged.

He lamented that Kenya often overlooks the real drivers of some of its most progressive development ideas.

“I doubt even some of those who talk about it (affordable housing) understand what they are talking about — but since it’s popular to say, let them continue,” he remarked.

The former Head of State described Ireri as a man of integrity and professionalism, recalling his tenure as a member of the Kenya Pipeline Company board, where, he said, Ireri played a key role in turning around the state corporation’s finances.

“These are organisations that people thought were cash cows for themselves. Frank and his team were committed to making them work. He turned that organisation from one draining government resources into one that was contributing billions to the exchequer every year,” Uhuru said.

He added that Ireri demonstrated the same dedication at Housing Finance and in shaping the affordable housing initiative.

“This is what our great country requires if we are to succeed,” Uhuru said.

The affordable housing programme — now one of the Kenya Kwanza administration’s flagship projects — seeks to provide decent, low-cost homes for low- and middle-income Kenyans.

The framework involves partnerships between the government, developers and citizens.

It includes incentives for developers, expanded access to mortgages and rent-to-own arrangements upon payment of a deposit.