Govt to fund half cost of affordable houses for Tokyo medallists
By Kenneth Mwenda, October 2, 2025Kenya’s Tokyo medal winners have received more than cash rewards after their successful outing at the 2025 World Athletics Championships. On Thursday, October 2, 2025, President William Ruto announced that the government will pay half the cost of houses for the gold medallists under the Affordable Housing Programme.
The Head of State hosted the team at State House, Nairobi, where he also handed out prize money cheques in line with the new sports reward scheme. He praised the athletes for their determination and for lifting Kenya’s name high in Tokyo, where the country collected seven gold, two silver and two bronze medals to finish second overall.
“In recognition of your heroic efforts, a total of Ksh27 million has already been disbursed to the medalists. Three million for each gold medalist, two million for each silver, and one million for each bronze medalist,” Ruto told the athletes.
He went on to respond to a request from the medalists that they be considered for the affordable housing initiative, in the same way the Harambee Stars football team benefited after the 2025 African Nations Championship.
“You also asked me to consider the matter of affordable housing for medallists, as extended to Harambee Stars after the CHAN. I want to confirm again that just like we did for the CHAN Harambee Stars sports men and women, the medallists will also benefit the way the others did,” Ruto said.
The president then confirmed the government’s support in clear terms:
“Government of Kenya, we are going to pay for half of the house of your choice. So you choose the house, we pay for you half, you pay the other half.”
Cash rewards honoured
The ceremony also marked the first full implementation of the new sports reward scheme, which was launched in September. Gold medallists Faith Kipyegon, Beatrice Chebet, Peres Jepchirchir, Lilian Odira, Faith Cherotich, and Emmanuel Wanyonyi each received Ksh3 million. Chebet, who lost her father-in-law recently, had her cheque collected by Kipyegon.
Silver medallist Dorcus Ewoi received Ksh2 million, while bronze medallist Edmund Serem earned Ksh1 million. The cash came in addition to the official World Athletics prize money, which awards US$70,000 (about Ksh9 million) for individual gold, US$35,000 (Ksh4.5 million) for silver, and US$22,000 (Ksh2.8 million) for bronze.
Housing plan follows CHAN precedent
The announcement mirrors a similar gesture to Harambee Stars players, who earlier in August were promised two-bedroom houses after their run at the 2025 CHAN tournament. Then, Ruto had explained that the government would pay Ksh1 million of the Ksh2 million house cost, leaving each player to settle the remaining half through direct payment or mortgage.
The same arrangement will now be applied to the Tokyo medallists. They will be allowed to select houses in towns of their choice, from Nairobi to Kisumu, Mombasa, Nakuru or Eldoret, where government housing projects are ongoing.