Storeyed houses a lurking danger, warns city mayor

The owners are violating height limits set for that zone, according to city mayor Geoffrey Majiwa.

He attributed this to the collusion between property developers and city planning officials who approve illegal building plans.

“There is a law that limits the height of buildings in various zones in the city of Nairobi and its environs, but city planners do not follow the building code to the letter when approving building plans,” said the mayor, noting that many of the structures towering the skies in Kileleshwa, Umoja and Lavington were built in total disregard of height limits.

He spoke in Nairobi during the mayors’ and policy-makers’ summit to sensitise mayors and other local authorities on urban planning issues

Vision 2030 director of the social and political affairs Gituro Wainana told the meeting that the mayor should take responsibility for the bogus constructions mushrooming in the city.

Local Government permanent secretary Karega Mutahi said lack of quality planning, awareness creation and adequate supervision of the implementation were to blame for the mess.

He said that the ministry was developing a national development policy to guide among others, development planning and urban investments.

Fall in quick succession

The construction boom in Nairobi has seen buildings collapse in quick succession, at times resulting in deaths.

In January 2006, more than 10 people died and 70 others were injured when a storeyed building under construction along River Road collapsed.

In October 2009 and January 2010, buildings also under construction collapsed in Kiambu killing scores of people and injuring many.