Activist sues NCA boss over collapsed building

National Construction Authority Chief Executive Officer Maurice Aketch. [File, Standard]

An activist has sued National Construction Authority Chief Executive Officer Maurice Aketch, seeking to have him removed from office over the collapsed South C multi-storey building.

Francis Owino, in his case, filed before Justice Lawrence Mugambi put the burden of the approvals on Mr Aketch, claiming he ought to have ensured compliance and sanctioning non-compliant developers.

Mr Owino sued Aketch and listed NCA and the State Department of Public Works and Infrastructure as interested parties.

He claims that investigations by the Nairobi City County and NCA allegedly revealed that the building was developed without structural plans, had not been inspected, and there were no geotechnical reports.

The activist further claimed that despite the approvals being 12 floors, there were additional floors which were allegedly built without approvals. “Despite repeated notices of violations issued to the developer and contractor by Nairobi City County, in May, July and December 2025, construction continued under the respondent’s regulatory oversight without enforcement compliance. The respondent failed to halt illegal construction and allowed activities that posed imminent danger to the public,” claimed Owino.

After the collapse, NMCA indicated that at the time, the building was non-compliant. Owino alleged that there was a pattern of systematic failures by the agency to crack down on developers who build sub-standard buildings. “The collapse of the building is part of a larger pattern of structural failures in Nairobi, including incidents in Zimmerman (September 2023) and Kahawa West (October 2024) where buildings collapsed due to poor workmanship, substandard materials and lack of material oversight,” he alleged.

He asserted that the disaster would not have happened if NCA had ensured that it was either not built or ensured compliance. “Evidence from internal correspondences indicates that the respondent and NCA were aware of prior violations, had knowledge of enforcement actions taken by Nairobi City County, yet failed to take decisive measures to prevent imminent harm to the public,” he argued.

He apportioned the burden of the collapsed building to NCA, claiming that it allegedly did not demand compliance with structural and safety standards, it allegedly permitted the construction without inspections, and it allegedly allowed expansion beyond the approved structural plan.