How woman buying curtains for a new home met her death in Eastleigh

 Dora Nyakitumwa died in the collapsed building in Eastleigh, Nairobi County. [Courtesy]

John Simiti is in pain. He is the husband of Dora Nyakitumwa, whose body was recovered on November 3, 2026, from the collapsed building in Eastleigh, Nairobi County.

And on Thursday, exactly 15 days after the 18-storey building that was under construction collapsed in Eastleigh, Simiti was told how his wife died.

An autopsy conducted on Nyakitumwa’s body at Nairobi Funeral Home showed that she died due to lack of oxygen after the building caved in.

"The body was not in good shape, especially the upper part. The lower part was intact and that is what helped us in identification," the husband said.

As of Thursday, rescue teams were reporting that out of the 11 people who were trapped in the building, eight bodies had been retrieved and the operation was nearing 95 per cent.

Of the bodies retrieved, six were women and two men.

Speaking to The Standard, Simiti said that prior to the collapse, they were planning to move to their new home in Ongata Rongai.

Part of their final touches to their home was to purchase new curtains and other stuff before moving in at the end of October.

On the fateful day, Nyakitumwa and her friend, a tailor only identified as Joyce, made their way to Eastleigh to purchase the curtains, unaware of the tragedy that awaited them.

The two were among the victims of the Eastleigh collapsed building, shattering their dreams of seeing beautiful curtains they had gone to buy.

"We parted ways that morning in high spirits. She was going to purchase curtains for our new home in Ongata since we were planning to move the following day," Simiti told The Standard

The husband recalls that he spoke with the wife on the phone around 11:23 am while she was at the curtains shop in the building and was upbeat about moving into their home.

 "I was a bit busy that day but I learnt about the news of the collapse of the building around 2 pm and when I called her number, she was unreachable; her friend's mobile phone was equally offline," he said

The husband said that by that time, he was still optimistic that maybe the wife had switched off her mobile or she was in a place with poor network connection but kept calling her and their house help before he returned home in the evening.

He kept hoping that the wife would reach out, but around 11 pm, he sensed something might have happened to her; he then alerted a relative who accompanied him to Eastleigh, where their fears were confirmed; data records revealed that Dora and her friend were trapped.

"That is how I lost her and it has been a troublesome wait for the body to be retrieved from the rubble. She was found on the first floor of the building, but her friend is still missing,"

"Since the first day of the collapse, the government has not done enough. The process was slow. Even the President has never uttered a word about the incident," he said

"The Eastleigh disaster should have been declared a national disaster and all resources directed to save lives but what we have been seeing is our leaders campaigning. It is still shocking that even the Head of State has never said anything," he added.

Simiti and other victims say they are considering legal action against the county and national government for compensation of their loved ones and negligence that claimed innocent lives.

On Thursday, another family that visited the morgue was unable to identify the body since most of the remains recovered from the site are in bad shape.

"We have been told to go to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations at Rauraka so that they can give directives to the City Mortuary to register the body," one of the family members said

The family said their relative was a mason and was among the workers who were putting the final touches on the 18-storey building.

Among those who have been at the scene for almost two weeks is Jairo Wekesa, whose wife, Roselyne Chepkoech, remains missing 13 days after the building collapsed.

Every morning at 7 am, Jairo leaves home and heads to the rescue site, hoping that the day will bring news of his wife.

His routine has become one of waiting for updates from the rescue teams and returning home every evening to answer his children's questions.

They want to know where their mother is. Each morning, he tells them he is going to look for her. When he returns in the evening, he has to give them the same painful answer: he has not found her, but he will try again tomorrow.

His hopes were particularly high after families were informed that the rescue operation had reached 90 per cent completion after nine days of work.

He believed that the remaining work would be completed by the tenth day. However, the anticipated breakthrough did not come and he has continued waiting for news of Roselyne.

Despite the uncertainty, Jairo says he remains hopeful that the ongoing operation will eventually lead him to his wife.

Beyond his personal anguish, he has appealed for more efficient disaster response systems to ensure that families do not endure prolonged periods of uncertainty when tragedies occur.

He has also expressed concern over what he describes as a lack of acknowledgement from the country's leadership, saying families at the scene would appreciate even a simple message of condolence from President William Ruto.

The bodies that were booked at the facility as of November 5 were four female and two male bodies that now awaits autopsies for collection of DNA samples.

"The samples will be matched with families who will come to identify their loved ones," a staff at Nairobi Funeral Home said

"If the bodies will stay here for long, it will be hard for relatives to identify because some of them were trapped in the rubble, one of the that was brought here had missing parts," the staff added

Director of the National Disaster Management Unit Dr Duncan Ochieng said the rescuers had reached the basement.

He explained that the nature of the collapsed building and the confined space of the operation were the reasons why the operation had stretched to the second week.

"In the history of this country, we have never experienced an 18th floor building collapse. The rescue teams have been able to diligently go through the rubble to ensure that we safe lives and recover the people who have been trapped," he said

The officers also said that of the bodies was dismembered due to the impact of the pillars and the walls. The remains were parked in two bags.

The first two days after the collapse witnessed beehive of activities and visits by senior government officials including Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and his counterpart CS Geoffrey Ruku.

As excavation started, the families of those buried in the rubble were optimistic to see their loves ones alive as the rescue operation continued amid the contradicting number of those trapped in the building.

The exercise of retrieving bodies brought both relief and trail of questions if their loved ones really deserved to die in such a horrific manner.

Kenyans also expected to see swift action being taken including clear information about the owner of the building, how they secured approvals and arrests of county and national officials involved.

However, these questions remain unanswered, the politicians and government officials who promised that no stone will be left unturned have moved on, others back on campaign trails.

On November 3, 2026, Nairobi County Assembly Committee was told that some officers are illegally in office.

The revelations were made during a joint sitting of the County Assembly's Lands, Planning and Housing Committee and the Labour Committee, where County Public Service Board Chairperson Thomas Kasowa was grilled.

 He told the committee that some officers, including directors and deputy directors, had continued discharging responsibilities in acting capacities long after the legally prescribed timelines had expired.

The planning department oversees planning approvals, development control, construction standards and enforcement of land-use regulations across the capital. The committee was further informed that some officers holding senior positions lacked the requisite academic qualifications for the portfolios they were occupying.

In other instances, questions were raised over alleged arbitrary promotions, with some officials reportedly promoted to positions without following established procedures.

 Babadogo MCA Geoffrey Majiwa, who chairs the Lands, Planning and Housing Committee, some of the affected officers have continued exercising significant administrative powers despite serving in acting capacities.

“We must find out how officers who have remained in acting positions beyond the stipulated period have continued exercising powers and making decisions associated with substantive appointments,” he said.