AG Muigai’s driver saved from collapsed Makongeni building

The personal driver of Attorney General Githu Muigai, who lived in the Makongeni building that collapsed on December 17, escaped death by a whisker.

The driver, Eric Wambugu, said he first sensed something was wrong around 11pm on December 16, when part of a wall under construction started tearing and releasing dust at the rear side the  building. This apparently however was a common occurrence.

“The building shook whenever one ran up the stairs. And at night whenever there was dust coming off the walls, we all got out” said Wambugu.

Wambugu sustained a bruise on his right leg and was attended to at Kenyatta National Hospital before he was discharged.

The driver said he usually wakes up at 3am to prepare and leave for GSU headquarters to pick Muigai’s bodyguards.

The driver says his alarm clock woke him early that morning like any other days and that he was just about to get off the bed when a slab fell on the floor, followed by a second one which landed on his mosquito net.

Sensing danger he dashed towards the door, but realised it could not open because the house was caving in.

It is then that he saw that a part of the follow had collapsed and he managed to squeeze his way out towards the staircase.

The staircase was dusty strewn with debris and so he retreated to the balcony where he attempted to jump to the ground. However, the floor gave way and trapped him.

“After the dust had settled, I realised there was a woman and a child trapped next to me. A few minutes later, police arrived,” he narrated.

The officers managed to release all of them and had them rushed to hospital.

Wambugu estimated there were about 10 people in the building at the time of the collapse.

According to him, most of the tenants were university students from the Technical University Kenya, although some of them had left for their rural homes.

The death toll from the collapsed building had risen to four by the time of going to press.

The first victim died as he was being taken to hospital while other bodies were retrieved that night, several hours after the building collapsed.

While 10 people were rescued as the search for more survivors and bodies went on.

“Three bodies were recovered on the night of December 17. Fatalities stand at four, but search and rescue is ongoing,” said Kenya Red Cross, which is among the emergency service providers who rushed to the scene.

Rescuers said they were in communication with people trapped in the building even as it appeared it may take long to clear the rubble.

It also emerged that the first, second and third floors had been occupied even though the building was still under construction.

Each floor had five single rooms which were mostly occupied by students.

The building is one of the many that lie on a disputed wetland.

Residents had protested its construction. Police said they were looking for the owner of the building.

Speaking to The Nairobian, Nairobi county executive member, Lands, Housing and Physical planning, Tom Odongo, said he cannot confirm if the building had been approved or not by the County Planning Department.

Joint rescue efforts by the military, Kenya National Disaster Operation Centre, the Kenya Red Cross Society, the Nairobi City Fire Brigade and the National Youth Service were launched soon after the building collapsed.

PICTURE: JACOB OTIENO