Court directs housing CS to respond to suit on allocation of units to teachers and police

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The High Court on Thursday gave the Attorney General, the Cabinet Secretary for Housing and Urban Development, the Principal Secretary in the State Department for Housing and Urban Development, and the Affordable Housing Board 14 days to file their responses in a petition challenging the allocation of affordable housing units to teachers and police officers.

Justice Lawrence Mugambi issued the orders after the parties agreed to drop a pending application and proceed with the hearing of the main petition.

The judge also directed that all interested parties, the National Police Service (NPS), the Teachers Service Commission (TSC), the Kenya National Union of Teachers (KNUT), the Kenya Union of Post-Primary Education Teachers (KUPPET), and the Kenya Primary School Heads Association (KEPSHA) must file their responses within the same period.

The petitioners, John Maina Ndegwa and Marshalls Tito Ongoya, will have 14 days after service to file further affidavits and written submissions.

The respondents and interested parties will thereafter file their closing submissions within 14 days, while the petitioners may file rebuttal submissions within 14 days of being served.

The matter will be mentioned on February 11, 2026, for further directions.

During Thursday’s mention, Marwa, representing the four respondents, apologized for non-compliance with the earlier service timelines and asked the court for an additional seven days, citing the sensitivity of the matter.

Ajak Jok, for the Kenya National Union of Teachers, requested 14 days to respond, saying his clients were served only two days ago, while Mungania, representing KUPPET, confirmed that a replying affidavit dated October 16, 2025, had already been filed and served, and that the petitioners had subsequently filed a further affidavit dated November 4, 2025.

Petitioner Marshalls Tito Ongoya told the court that all parties had been duly served and urged that time be reduced to seven days, arguing that the petition raised weighty constitutional issues of public interest and that time was of the essence.

The petitioners, Ndegwa and Ongoya, contend that the government’s decision to reserve 20 percent of affordable housing units for teachers and police officers under the Affordable Housing Programme (AHP) is unconstitutional, discriminatory, and contrary to national values of equality and inclusiveness.

They argue that the directives, issued through the Ministry of Housing, privilege certain classes of public servants to the exclusion of other taxpayers, in violation of Articles 10, 27, 43, 73, 129, 201, and 232 of the Constitution.

The petitioners maintain that the programme, financed by taxpayer funds, must benefit all Kenyans equally, not specific groups.

In an earlier order issued on September 25, 2025, Justice Mugambi had directed that the application and petition be physically served within seven days, and that responses and rejoinders be filed within corresponding seven-day intervals.