Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Public Works and Urban Development Alice Wahome has refuted claims that deported Turkish national and President Ruto’s friend and businessman Harun Aydin won a tender for affordable housing.
Wahome stated that the bid by the businessman was rejected after due diligence was conducted.
“The tendering process is guided by the law and is done publicly as we are expected to do due diligence. I will seek to find out more about the case of Aydin,” Wahome stated.
The CS defended the government adding that due diligence is done to avoid the award of tenders to people involved or linked to money laundering.
“We do fact-finding and due diligence so that we don’t get people doing money laundering around with… money that is not clear. You know we have very tight regulations on financial reporting, “She defended.
The defense of the government by CS Wahome comes after the media reported that a company linked to the controversial Turkish businessman close to President Ruto won a Multi-billion tender to build affordable houses making him a beneficiary of the State housing scheme.
The reports indicate that MHOA Africa Limited, owned by Harun Aydin is part of a joint venture expected to build at least one thousand houses partially funded by the 1.5 per cent housing levy deducted from the salaries of employed Kenyans.
Details indicate that MHOA Africa was registered in March 2023, six months after Ruto took over as president and Aydin co-owns it with his Turkish partner Hamit Demir.
MHOA is among the 200 companies that pre-qualified for affordable housing projects as it was selected under category A, reserved for those tasked with the construction.
So far, the government has constructed 140,000 affordable housing units, with a target of 200,000 units annually and 1 million over the next five years.
Additionally, plans are underway to release 5,000 affordable housing units to the public by April 2025, according to Lands CS Wahome.
The government is finalizing preparations for the handover and commissioning of these houses to provide decent and affordable housing, particularly for low-income earners.
Aydin rose to prominence in August 2021, when he was detained and deported by Kenyan authorities, who labeled him a suspect in terrorism financing and money laundering.
At the time, Aydin was part of a delegation scheduled to accompany then-Deputy President Ruto on a trip to Uganda but was abruptly blocked by immigration officials due to high-level intelligence concerns.
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