Building under construction collapses in Kiambu
The A four-storey building in Kikuyu, Kiambu County that collapsed on March 5, 2022 while undergoing construction .
A four-storey building that was under construction has collapsed in Kikuyu, Kiambu County.
Kikuyu police boss Catherine Ringera told the Nation in an interview that no one was injured during the incident as workers at the site had already left when the building collapsed on Saturday night.
“The building collapsed at night and no deaths or injuries were reported because most of the construction workers who have been working on the building had left for home on Saturday,” Ms Ringera said.
The new development comes less than six months after three buildings that were under construction collapsed in Kiambu County.
The incidents have put the county lands, housing and physical planning department on the spotlight regarding how approvals are done.
In August last year, a five-storey building that was under construction caved in, killing five people and injuring over 10 others.
In September, another six-floor building in Kinoo which was under construction partially caved in. No deaths were reported.
In October last year, a nine-storey building that was under construction in Ruiru, near Tatu City collapsed. Luckily, no workers were on site as it was on a Sunday.
Disobeying directives
Following the Gachie incident, Kiambu Governor James Nyoro blamed the developer for disobeying the directives from the county authorities to stop the construction until he complies with all the set regulations.
But in all the instances, most of the developers blamed the county government for making it hard for them to get approval letters even after meeting all the requirements, maintaining that corruption in the planning department was the main problem.
After last year’s incidents in Kiambu, Mr Nyoro set up a multi-agency team to inspect the buildings under construction to ensure they had met the requirements.
The report by the team has never been made public.
