Merchants of death: How failed oversight led to South C building collapse

Search efforts at a collapsed building in Nairobi's South C estate along Muhoho avenue. [Benard Orwongo, Standard] The collapse of a 14-storey building in South C Area, Lang'ata Sub-County, Nairobi, has once again cast a harsh spotlight on the approvals and oversight governing high-rise construction in the city. Questions have emerged over how the building received clearance, with blame shifting between offices mandated to approve and inspect construction projects. Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku said the building is owned by two Kenyans and had been approved for only 12 floors, but the developers illegally added two extra floors. "From the preliminary investigations, it is suspected that the building has collapsed because of the columns' overload," Ruku stated. He added that Nairobi City County Government had issued a stop order on August 11, 2025, to stop construction of the building, but the order was defied. "It seems the order was not complied with by the contractor, the supervising engineers, as well as the owners," Ruku said, adding that they are also investigating the architect who did the architectural drawing. "We want to assure all Kenyans as a government, we will go into details of exactly the negligence that was there, what caused the collapse of this building and all those who have been involved. The law will be taken and they will face full force of law," Ruku stated. The issues of noncompliance were also reiterated by the National Construction Authority (NCA) Executive Director, Engineer Maurice Akech, who stated that the Authority registered the project on November 8, 2023, and that at the time of collapse, it was non-compliant. The building was a Proposed Mixed-Use Development on Muhoho Avenue, plot number 68/1306, South C Ward, Lang'ata Sub-County. According to the NCA, the building was being developed by Abyan Consulting Limited, a company owned by Yussuf Mohamed Yussuf and Abdishakur Muse Mohamed Yusuf, the same company that also served as the contractor. The NCA executive director named the consultants of the project as Architect Gideon Chege Mwangi, Engineer Peter Kimani Kireru, and Quantity Surveyor James Kirika Njoroge. "The Authority reiterates its commitment to safeguarding public safety, ensuring accountability within the construction industry, and upholding the highest standards of professionalism and compliance across all construction projects nationwide." However, there are claims of bribery and impunity by the developers and officials from the county government, with residents and leaders raising concerns over the mushrooming high-rise constructions in the area. Public Service CS Geoffrey Ruku addresses the media after witnessing search efforts at the collapsed building in South C Nairobi on January 2,2026. [Benard Orwongo, Standard] Lang'ata MP, Phelix Odiwuor alias Jalang'o, questioned the authorisation procedure for the construction of residential buildings in South C and in Nairobi County at large. He claimed that the structural credibility of most buildings are questionable, stating that the approvals are done through the back door. "Buildings are going on, and some are questionable, but they'll tell you they know who is who," he said,"I have written 43 letters requesting information about a building we feel suspicious about. But there has been no response from relevant authorities," said the MP, adding that the collapsed building was one of those that he questioned the construction integrity of.The Standard also established that the questionable construction was going on just about 100 metres from a Nairobi City County office in the area. Similar claims of controversial and illegal approval of projects in Nairobi were raised by Kileleshwa Ward MCA Robert Alai, who claimed wanton corruption in the relevant offices involved in approval and inspection of construction projects in the county. The MCA termed the disaster as "a man-made tragedy, born out of blatant corruption, abuse of office, and reckless disregard for human life." "Official county records in my possession, including the Nairobi City County approval notice dated 19th December 2023 and the submitted architectural drawings, clearly show that permission was granted for only 12 levels (80 apartments, mixed-use) on L.R. No. 209/5909/10," Alai said in a statement. "The approved floor plans explicitly detail a basement, ground floor, first floor, and typical layouts from the 2nd to the 11th floor. Nothing more. Yet the collapsed building had reached 16 storeys, four illegal extra floors built in open defiance of the law," he claimed. The MCA pointed fingers at the officials of Nairobi City County in the Built Environment and Urban Planning department for what he termed as "active complicity or criminal negligence" and the deliberate wrongdoing of the developer. "I am therefore demanding that the DCI immediately arrest and prosecute County Officials responsible for approvals, inspections and enforcement," Alai demanded. Some of the officeholders the MCA listed as persons who should be answerable include the Chief Officer for Built Environment and Urban Planning, the director of Physical Planning, county Building Inspectors for Lang'ata Sub-County and members of the Urban Planning Technical Committee, Lang'ata Sub-County Enforcement Commander, responsible NEMA and NCA Officials "Officers repeatedly linked to illegal approvals must be investigated and charged without delay," Alai demanded. "This incident shouldn't provide the police, especially the DCI officers with a chance to collect bribe and line their pockets but an opportunity to be on the side of the public and protect the sanity of the Nairobians," he added. The MCA called on the police to take action against all the responsible parties who approved the construction of illegal floors that directly endangered and took lives. "They must face the full force of the law. All parties should be charged with manslaughter, gross negligence causing death, abuse of office, willful neglect of duty, and violations of the Physical and Land Use Planning Act," he added. Search efforts at a collapsed building in Nairobi's South C estate along Muhoho avenue. [Benard Orwongo, Standard] Officials from the South C Residents Association also weighed in on the issue of negligence, stating that the damage was " foreseeable and preventable." According to Dr Abdulmalik Tuesday Gichuki, Architect and Chairman of the association, they have formally and repeatedly raised concerns with the Nairobi City County Government regarding approvals, planning standards supervision, weak prosecution outcomes and selective enforcement practices in the construction of high-rise buildings in the area. "The collapse witnessed today must therefore be understood not as an isolated mishap, but as the culmination of sustained regulatory and enforcement failure," said the Gichuki. He stated that based on initial visual assessments and photographic evidence, the collapse appears to have been a progressive structural failure that likely began at or near the lower levels of the building. He cited the debris pattern, particularly the near-horizontal stacking of floor slabs, which suggests a possible loss of load-bearing capacity in key structural elements such as columns or shear walls, potentially due to design flaws, non-compliant reinforcement, poor-quality materials, overloading during construction, or deviations from approved plans. He added that since he building was still under construction, construction-stage risks may also have contributed to the failure, including premature removal of formwork, inadequate concrete curing, weak temporary support systems, and poor site supervision. Rescue workers move through the rubble of a multi-storey building that collapsed in Nairobi's South C on January 2, 2025. [Benard Orwongo, Standard] "These observations are not findings of fact. They are stated solely to underscore the necessity for an independent and comprehensive forensic investigation," he added. While these observations are not conclusive, they highlight the urgent need for an independent forensic investigation and reinforce long-standing concerns about weaknesses in development control, enforcement, and construction oversight under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019. In response to the question of bribery, CS Ruku said that the county government did not approve the construction of the two extra floors. "The information we have is that the extra two floors were not approved. And that's why on 11th of August 2025, there was an order issued by Nairobi County Government to stop construction of the building," Ruku said. Dabasso Wario, Southern Borough Manager at the Nairobi City County Government, further reiterated the noncompliance in the construction of the building, stating that the site has been subject to enforcement action on varying dates in May, July and December 2025 over a number of infractions. Although no one has been arrested in connection with the disaster, Ruku said the government will take action against all involved parties, including the architects, contractors, engineers, the owners and the officials of approved the construction. "Already we have taken samples of the iron bars which have been used in the construction of this building to see whether they are the right standard and if they meet the requirements, the specification of building a 12-storey building," he stated. "I can't talk about the bribery at the moment because I have a document showing the stopping of the construction of this building dated 11 August 2025. If the consulting engineer, the contractor, did not comply with the order from the Nairobi County, they're the people who are going to ensure the answer to the pain," he added. Search efforts at a collapsed building in Nairobi's South C estate along Muhoho avenue. [Benard Orwongo, Standard] There are also concerns that the building was built with substandard materials with Ruku noting that there is a problem in compliance among developers in the area and in Nairobi. "We are calling upon all those who are doing construction of different buildings not only in this area of Nairobi but in the entire city and every corner of the country, to follow the laws which are supposed to be followed, the standards which are supposed to be followed," he urged. "We urged them to use proper materials, employ professional engineers, and adhere to professional advice," he added. Even as the rescue team removes the debris and searches for the trapped people, there is also a concern that the 14-storey building adjacent to the collapsed one is at risk of collapsing. According to Wiiliam Sifuna, director National Disaster Management and the Rescue Operation Lead, the building was weakened as the pillars on the ground and on the ground floor were knocked. "An adjacent 14-floor building has been identified as a high-risk structure, with potential structural compromise resulting from vibrations and impact caused by the collapse," said Wario in a statement. "Theodolite and laser equipment have been deployed within the cold zone to continuously monitor the adjacent building for wall tilting, leaning columns, crack widening, floor sagging, vertical and horizontal angular deviations, alignment shifts, tilts, and ground subsidence as rescue operations continue," Wario added in a statement. "The safety of the surrounding neighborhood is our second-highest priority, because of the impact of the collapse, an adjacent 16-floor building is being closely monitored. Investigations into the cause of the collapse," said Wario. The Standard also observed that adjacent to the two buildings, another one is coming up, raising concerns over its structural stability.

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