President William Ruto's affordable housing project has run into headwinds in Narok County after the Maasai Council of Elders termed it immaterial to the community.
The group led by their chairman Kelena Ole Nchoe said they read mischief in the plan to construct the houses on land belonging to the Purko clan saying it's intended at settling outsiders to destabilise the community's voting matrix.
"The purpose is to import people who are not from this district so that you increase the population which is going to be very detrimental in our political stability, so we do not want those houses, they can be built anywhere else," Nchoe said.
The elders, however, said the proposal for construction of the governor's house and offices is welcome but affordable houses are irrelevant for them since no one is homeless.
They said they live in rural settings and the idea of immigrating to urban areas to occupy the affordable houses isn't going to benefit the community.
"Building affordable houses, to build for who?" Nchoe asked. "We don't have people loitering on the streets looking for houses. We have houses we live in," he added.
Nchoe was speaking after a meeting with leaders from the eight Maasai clusters within Narok County.
The ire of the elders followed remarks by Housing and Urban Development CS Charles Hinga that the Narok County Government and the County Commissioner had identified 200 acres of land for the housing programme that was donated by the Purko community.
On Sunday during the homecoming ceremony of Environment CS Soipan Tuya at her home in Leshuta where Ruto and Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua were chief guests, EALA MP David Ole Sankok and Narok South MP Kitilai Ntutu assured the leaders of the community's support for the project.
"We as the Maasai community are tired of living in Manyattas and want to live in stone houses," Sankok said.
But the Council of Elders patron Joseph Ole Karia said claims about donated land were misleading as the said land is under the Purko Development Trust whose transaction can only be executed on the authority of the Purko General Assembly.
"Manyumba hii ambayo inasemekana itajengwa katika Narok County, bado sio Purko community yetu sisi kama wamaasai kwa sababu haitakuja kufaidi sisi (These houses are said will be built here in Narok County, it's not in our Purko unit as Maaasai because it will not benefit us)," ole Karia said.
"Iko namna hiyo na tutasimama namna hiyo (That's the way it is and that's our stand)."
