Construction must be accompanied by accountability

Six people are dead after another building under construction collapsed along Mombasa Road. Another four were killed yesterday when a wall collapsed on them.

Their deaths are an indictment of a construction sector in which safety checks and the protection of workers and the public too often come second to the rush to build.

The two tragedies are more disturbing because they occurred barely a month after a similar building collapse in Eastleigh, Nairobi.

When disasters recur in quick succession, the question cannot be limited to what went wrong at one site. The country must ask why safeguards meant to prevent such failures are not working.

Witnesses said it was raining when the Mombasa road building caved in at about 8am, trapping workers beneath the rubble. Eye witnesses said rescue teams took about an hour to arrive. The account captures the terror of the collapse and the vulnerability of people working and trading around construction sites.

Nairobi City County Fire and Rescue Commander Bramwel Simiyu said preliminary reports indicated that the top slab had collapsed while workers were on site. The cause must be established through a thorough, independent investigation. The public deserves more than a preliminary explanation.

Investigators must establish whether approved plans were followed, the structure properly inspected and workers adequately protected.

Kenya has laws, building standards and institutions charged with regulating construction. Yet repeated collapses raise serious questions about enforcement, coordination and accountability. Approvals on paper mean little if inspections are irregular, violations ignored or officials look away.

Developers and contractors who cut corners must face consequences, as must regulators who fail in their duties.

County governments, the National Construction Authority and other agencies must stop operating as disconnected offices. They should inspect projects throughout construction, not merely at approval or after tragedy strikes.

Work on unsafe sites must be halted, and structural designs and inspection reports opened to scrutiny. Safety rules must apply equally to influential developers and small contractors. Workers must be able to report unsafe conditions without fear of losing their jobs. Protective equipment, safe working procedures and emergency plans are not optional costs; they are basic obligations. Neighbouring traders and residents also deserve protection from poorly secured sites.

The six lives lost  on Mombasa Road and the four in Kileleshwa must not become another statistic followed by silence. A credible investigation, public findings, prosecutions where warranted and stronger inspections are the minimum response.

Kenya cannot keep celebrating a construction boom while burying its victims. Development is measured not by how quickly buildings rise, but by whether people can build, work and live around them safely.