A tragic incident unfolded in Kahawa West, a crowded area north of Nairobi, Kenya, where an eight-storey building collapsed on Sunday, leaving several families feared trapped under the debris.
According to Nairobi county officials, the building had previously been condemned and marked for demolition. The Kenya Red Cross confirmed the grim news of residents potentially trapped beneath the rubble via a post on X. Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja reported that one woman, who was outside the building at the time, sustained injuries but is currently in stable condition.
Governor Sakaja noted, “Casualties were expected to be minimal,” and confirmed that evacuation efforts were in progress for those living in the vicinity of the collapsed structure.
Witnesses flocked to the scene, where the building had stood amid a mix of high-rise constructions and a church. Catherine Wanjiku, a former tenant, expressed her relief at having moved out just a day before the disaster. “I don’t feel good because I moved out yesterday. I am shaky, I am stressed. I have friends whose belongings have been destroyed in there,” the 33-year-old shared.
A document from Nairobi county dated October 16 revealed that the building had been constructed and occupied without the necessary approvals. Tenants had been given a two-week notice to vacate, but the collapse occurred before that deadline could be met.
Kenya has witnessed an alarming increase in building collapses, primarily attributed to substandard construction practices and weak regulatory enforcement. In September 2022, a six-storey building collapsed outside Nairobi, resulting in five fatalities. Similarly, in April 2016, 49 lives were lost in a comparable incident after heavy rainfall exacerbated structural weaknesses.
The ongoing construction boom in Kenya, coupled with corruption, has allowed many contractors to neglect essential safety measures, significantly endangering lives.
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