Uhuru orders audit of city buildings in three months
A rescue operation is carried out by Kenya Defence Forces officers and the National Youth Service after a seven storey block of flats collapsed Sunday night in Huruma, Nairobi. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE
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Nairobi County has said it will conduct a comprehensive audit of buildings in the city to develop a database for those that are certified unsafe for occupation.
City Hall officials face prosecution over the collapse of buildings in Nairobi as President Uhuru Kenyatta demanded an audit of all property in the capital.
The President directed City Hall and the Land ministry to conduct an audit of all buildings and submit a report in three months. Acting Inspector General Samuel Arachi reckons that City Hall officials in the planning and inspectorate departments are being compromised in approving construction of weak buildings.
At least two people and an infant were killed and several others injured when a seven-storey residential building collapsed Sunday in Huruma, Nairobi.
The capital has seen several fatal building collapses in recent years, with the speed of construction and poor quality of materials generally to blame.
“Henceforth, the enforcement units which are charged with the responsibility of ensuring rules and processes are followed should do their work else they are going to face charges in court,” said Mr Arachi. “We cannot see every month buildings collapsing in Nairobi and people are compromised in the approval stages.”
The city is the site of a frenetic building boom due, in a large part, to the rapid expansion of the middle class over the past years. Some contractors are building without the consent of city authorities, a breach the police say should be arrested by the planning and inspectorate department.
The seven-storey building situated near Daima Primary School collapsed Sunday at around 8pm. Residents say they had seen cracks on the floors of the building before they went for Christmas holidays.
Nairobi county official Tom Odongo said six floors in the building were occupied and a seventh was under construction. He said the upper floors were built in quick succession, putting pressure on the lower floors, and added that the construction had not been permitted by local authorities.
The collapsed building had exceeded the approved four storeys.
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