?? Landlords Drop Rent in 6 Estates, Ruto Fills Cabinet, Drama in Gachagua Ouster Plan

By Washington Mito

Hello and welcome to the Tuesday edition of the Evening Brief Newsletter where some tenants are getting a reprieve as Gachagua faces an ouster.

1 Fun Thing: Follow the? Kenyans.co.ke channel on WhatsApp?here for more quizzes and quick news updates.

Rent Drops in 6 Estates

A report by real estate company HassConsult revealed six estates where rent prices dropped during the second quarter of this year.

As highlighted in the report, most of the?rent drop was witnessed in the suburbs of Nairobi.

Upper Hill was the estate that witnessed the highest drop in rental prices. Rent in Upper Hill is reported to have dropped by 4.5 per cent between April and June.

The suburb is dominated by several high-rise buildings that host office spaces and residential apartments.

On the other hand, Kileleshwa, Muthaiga, Riverside and Langata also experienced a drop in rental prices.

The report explained that the move to drop rent prices was occasioned by the harsh economic times that have seen many Kenyans struggle to make ends meet.

"Rental prices experienced a slight increase of 0.01 per cent in the quarter. Property owners are cautious about raising rents to retain tenants amid higher taxes and inflation, which has constrained disposable income," read the report in part.

Meanwhile, within the 14 Nairobi satellite towns, only Kitengela tenants benefited from a rent drop.?

HassConsult explained that the satellite towns registered a unique trend contrary to what was witnessed in the Nairobi suburbs owing to the migration of Kenyans to the satellite towns.

Notably, the increase in prices was also witnessed for prices of houses on sale.

"In terms of price growth, Nairobi's satellite towns outperformed its suburbs with an average increase of 2.1 per cent compared to a 0.9 per cent decrease in the suburbs.?

"This rise in satellite towns can be attributed to accelerated urbanisation, which has bolstered demand and pushed up asking prices," read the report in part

Conversely, other estates saw rent prices soar despite the tough economic times facing many Kenyan households.

Estates that saw the highest growth in rent prices were Ongata Rongai (4.6 per cent), Athi River (3.9 per cent), Muthangari (3.3 per cent) and Loresho (3 per cent),?

Key Pointers for Property Market in Nairobi and Satellite Towns

• Property sales prices increased by 1 per cent in Q2 2024.
• Nairobi’s satellite towns led in property price growth with a 2.1 per cent increase over the quarter, while Nairobi’s suburbs showed a modest decline of 0.9 per cent.
• Property rental prices remained steady at a 0.01 per cent increase in the quarter despite economic challenges and restrained consumer spending.?

Changes Tracker?

With more changes anticipated in government, the newsletter team will continuously keep you updated with the latest developments.

Here are the changes made by Ruto on Tuesday:

Beatrice Askul Moe -?Nominated as the Cabinet Secretary for the East African Community (EAC)?

• She is a social scientist.
• Previously served as the County Executive Committee Member in charge of Water, Irrigation, Agriculture and Land Reclamation in the Turkana County Government.?
• She was part of the panel which was tasked with picking Azimio leader Raila Odinga's running mate in the 2022 presidential poll.

Dorcas Oduor -?Nominated as Attorney General

• She currently serves as Secretary of Public Prosecutions at the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
• Oduor is an advocate of the High Court of Kenya and holds a Bachelor's Degree in Law from the University of Nairobi.?

Gachagua’s Impeachment

Cracks are continuing to emerge within the ruling coalition with reports detailing an impeachment?plan against Deputy President Riagathi Gachagua .

As revealed in reports that emerged on Tuesday, an impeachment motion against Deputy President Rigati Gachagua is expected to be filed in Parliament in the coming days.

It is alleged that a CS nominee and some Members of Parliament from the vore-rich region are behind the planned ouster of the DP.

The group is reported to have met on Saturday and resolved to sponsor a motion against the DP.

Gachagua is accused of being divisive in the country owing to his remarks during public engagements.?

However, the planned ouster of Gachagua is expected to be met with resistance from a section of UDA lawmakers who have already criticised the plan.

According to Gitunguri Member of Parliament Gathoni Wamuchomba,?the impeachment motion is aimed at shifting the focus of Kenyans from serious issues being exposed in the government.

"Someone thinks bringing a tribal card against the DP and leaders of Mt Kenya will diffuse the rot in the Kenya Kwanza Government as highlighted by the protestors.

"Presenting an impeachment agenda against DP Rigathi Gachagua is a decoy to shift the attention from allegations of massive corruption and open inefficiency on various issues flagged by Kenyans," she stated.

Other reactions from Gachagua allies:

“I want to tell those MPs spending sleepless nights planning how to impeach Gachagua to bring the motion to the National Assembly. We will deal with it but they must be aware that this will alter the political equation of this region,” Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga stated.

"The Mt Kenya Kingpin is Rigathi Gachagua because he has the highest rank politically. I want to say that I would not sign (the impeachment motion)," Nominated MP Sabina Chege reacted.

Here are the top five stories for the day;

• Government hires one page in Daily Nation to explain the JKIA expansion deal with Adani .
• World Bank to approve additional Ksh26 billion loan for Kenya.
• How brave Kenyan Police chased away members of the feared 400 Mawozo gang in Haiti.
• Shakahola taskforce submits report to Parliament. Here are the recommendations .
• 3 satellite towns that have emerged as hotspots for land buyers in 2024.

This newsletter was written by Washington Mito and edited by Brian Muuo.

Derrick Kubasu contributed to the content.

Graphics prepared by Adongo Kyalo .