Relatives of people feared trapped beneath the rubble of a building that collapsed in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area on Friday are clinging to hope that their loved ones will be found alive as rescue teams continue searching for survivors.
At least seven people were initially feared trapped when the building came crashing down. Hopes were renewed on Saturday after a second victim was pulled alive from the rubble more than 24 hours after the collapse.
Christine Njeri said her sister and cousin operated a shop in the basement of the building, which was still under construction. She fears they may be buried beneath the debris.
Christine Njeri speaks to the media at the site of the collapsed building in Eastleigh, Nairobi on October 24, 2026. Njeri said her sister and cousin are trapped beneath the rubble of the collapsed building.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
“We talked yesterday, but now their mobile phones are off. They moved to the building earlier this year from another building here in Eastleigh. All I can do is pray that they are found alive,” she told the Daily Nation as she waited anxiously for news.
For Andrew Bwaio, popularly known in the area as Ojakoya, the wait has been equally agonising. He said his mother, who lives in Uganda, had called him and asked him to go to the scene and recover his brother’s body if he did not survive.
“My brother was working in the basement as a plumber when the building collapsed. Today in the morning, he managed to call my mother in Uganda and told her that he was still under the rubble and that time was running out. My mother told me to come here and not to leave without him or his body,” he said.
Mr Bwaio added that another cousin, also a plumber, works in the building opposite the collapsed structure and witnessed the incident.
“He is too traumatised to even step here,” he said.
Andrew Bwaio speaks to the media at the site of the collapsed building in Eastleigh, Nairobi on October 24, 2026. Bwaio said his brother is trapped beneath the rubble of the collapsed building.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
Several relatives of the missing people gathered in a tent provided by the Kenya Red Cross. They could be seen speaking in hushed tones as they waited for updates from the search and rescue teams.
The Kenya Red Cross said the second survivor, who was taken to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) for treatment, was rescued after hours of painstaking work by its search and rescue teams working alongside multi-agency partners.
The rescue came as teams continued searching the site of the collapsed building along Yusuf Haji Avenue.
In an update on Saturday afternoon, the Kenya Red Cross said 66 of the 67 construction workers who had been at the site had been traced and accounted for.
However, the search continued for anyone who might have been inside or near the building when it collapsed.
The organisation urged people searching for missing relatives to visit its tracing desk at the scene or call its toll-free number, 1199, for assistance.
As rescue operations continued, police announced that they had launched a manhunt for the building’s owner and contractor as investigators sought to establish the cause of the collapse and determine possible criminal liability.
“The National Police Service has initiated a comprehensive investigation, in collaboration with other relevant professional bodies, to establish the cause of the collapse and determine criminal liability,” police spokesperson Muchiri Nyaga said in a statement.
“Any individual or entity found culpable of negligence or of violating building regulations will face the full force of the law.”
Firefighters spray water on the rubble as National Youth Service (NYS) officers look on at the site of the collapsed building in Eastleigh, Nairobi on October 24, 2026.
Photo credit: Bonface Bogita | Nation Media Group
Mr Nyaga said police were part of a multi-agency team coordinating rescue operations at the scene. He asked the public to avoid the site to “give heavy excavators, specialised canine units and rescue personnel unhindered access to perform their duties without interference.”
Meanwhile, the National Construction Authority (NCA) has listed 9th Street Plaza Limited as the developer and Stromax Holdings E.A. Limited as the contractor. Emmanuel Mwangi Maina has been listed as the project architect, while Joseph Muturi Mugu has been named as the structural engineer.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the project had failed to comply with construction guidelines and that the county government had forwarded relevant information to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for further investigation.
Mr Sakaja also said the collapsed multi-storey building belonged to the estate of the late Wilson Mutia Musyoki, with John Mutia Musyoki listed as the developer on record.
