NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 2 — Lang’ata Sub-County Police Commander Pius Mwanthi has confirmed that one pedestrian was injured after a 16-storey building under construction collapsed in South C, Nairobi, with search efforts ongoing to trace night guards who were reportedly on duty at the site.
Mwanthi said the injured man, believed to have been passing near the construction site at the time of the collapse, was rushed to hospital for treatment.
He added that several security guards who were manning the premises could not immediately be accounted for, raising fears that they may be trapped under the rubble.
Emergency responders, including multi-agency teams and the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), continued search and rescue operations at the scene hours after the building came down at dawn on January 2, 2025.
As rescue efforts intensified, South C Member of County Assembly (MCA) Abass Khalif blamed negligence and oversight failures by Nairobi City County officials, calling for accountability over the incident.
Lapses
In a statement, Khalif described the collapse as a devastating tragedy and extended condolences to the victims and their families.
He said preliminary findings pointed to serious lapses within the Nairobi City County Urban Planning Department, particularly in inspection, enforcement, and development control.
“I have ordered a thorough investigation to determine the exact cause, but preliminary findings point to negligence and oversight failures by the Nairobi City County’s Urban Planning Department,” Khalif said.
He noted that officers responsible for planning, inspection, enforcement, architecture, surveying, and development control bear the duty of ensuring compliance with building regulations and must be held to account.
Khalif observed that similar incidents have occurred in the past despite repeated warnings over weak approval and enforcement processes within the county.
“We know this is not the first time such an incident has happened. County officials and the building owners must be held to account for this tragedy,” he said.
“This should be the final incident and must serve as a lesson. Sixteen floors collapsing is a clear indicator that something was fundamentally wrong from the start.”
To prevent future tragedies, the MCA said authorities plan to review all approved building plans in South C and strengthen monitoring of ongoing construction projects.
The collapsed structure was adjacent to other buildings under construction and damaged at least one neighbouring property.
Police said the owner and contractor of the building are being sought for questioning as investigations continue to establish whether the construction complied with approved plans and existing building regulations.
