Rescue operations at the collapsed building in South C, Nairobi were temporarily suspended following fears that an adjacent structure might also come down.
Public Service, Human Capital Development and Special Programmes Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku confirmed that four people are trapped inside the rubble of the collapsed building.
They are presumed dead.
The four include two watchmen and two passers-by who were in the vicinity when the structure came down.
Authorities established a multi-agency team comprising nine different sectors to coordinate the rescue mission at the site.
However, operations were halted as structural engineers assess whether the neighbouring building poses an imminent danger to rescue workers and residents.
Families of those trapped gathered at the scene, anxiously waiting for news about their loved ones.
In a positive development, one taxi driver who was caught up in the incident was rushed to the Mbagathi hospital.
Ruku revealed damaging details about the collapsed building that point to serious regulatory violations.
He said the collapsed structure was owned by two individuals and had only been approved for construction up to 12 floors.
However, authorities discovered that four additional floors were illegally added, bringing the total to 16 floors in clear violation of building regulations.
The CS stressed that investigations have already commenced to establish who violated building regulations and standards.
He warned that those involved in the illegal construction would face the full force of the law. The unauthorized additional floors are believed to have compromised the structural integrity of the building, potentially contributing to the collapse.
Kileleshwa Member of County Assembly (MCA) Robert Alai demanded the immediate arrest and prosecution of county officials and developers linked the collapsed structure.
He described the tragedy as a man-made disaster born out of corruption and criminal negligence.
Alai extended his deepest condolences to the families who lost loved ones in the collapse of the building along Muhoho Avenue, including security guards and a taxi driver with his passengers.
The lawmaker declared that this was not a natural disaster but rather the result of human failings at multiple levels of oversight.
Armed with official county records, including the Nairobi City County approval notice dated December 19, 2023, and submitted architectural drawings, Alai revealed that permission was granted for only 12 levels comprising 80 mixed-use apartments on L.R. No. 209/5909/10.
The approved floor plans explicitly detail a basement, ground floor, first floor, and typical layouts from the 2nd to the 11th floor. Yet the collapsed building had reached 16 storeys, with four illegal extra floors built in open defiance of the law.
The lawmaker stated that this glaring violation could not have happened without the active complicity or criminal negligence of Nairobi City County officials in the Built Environment and Urban Planning department, coupled with deliberate wrongdoing by the developer.
He called for the immediate arrest of several county officials, including the Chief Officer for Built Environment and Urban Planning, the Director of Physical Planning, County Building Inspectors for Lang’ata Sub-County, members of the Urban Planning Technical Committee that approved the project under Item No. 60 on December 19, 2023, the Lang’ata Sub-County Enforcement Commander, and responsible NEMA and NCA officials.
Alai specifically named three officers he said have been repeatedly linked to illegal approvals. He also called for the arrest of the directors of the developer, stating that they directed the construction of illegal floors that endangered lives.
“Nairobians are tired of burying their brothers and sisters under concrete because a few selfish individuals put profit over people,” he said, adding that the pattern must end immediately.
He insisted that all parties should be charged with manslaughter, gross negligence causing death, abuse of office, wilful neglect of duty, and violations of the Physical and Land Use Planning Act.
“This incident shouldn’t provide the police, especially the DCI officers, with a chance to collect bribes and line their pockets but an opportunity to be on the side of the public and protect the sanity of the Nairobians,” he said.
“I call on the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to act swiftly and decisively. Arrest those responsible today. Prosecute them without fear or favour. Let this be the last time greed costs us innocent lives.”
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