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Why buildings are collapsing, taking lives 

Collapsed building

The debris of a nine-storey building that collapsed in Ruiru, Kiambu County in this picture taken on October 21, 2021.

Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group

By  Mary Wambui

Nation Media Group

What you need to know:

  • Past incidents have shown that rarely do investigations into collapsed buildings result in successful prosecution.
  • Most past cases have no clear record of action taken, and for the few that ended up in court, developers managed to have their way.


Graft and impunity in planning departments, and greed among developers has led to an increase in collapsing buildings across the country.

This explains why county officials wait for buildings to collapse before they rush to declare them unsafe.

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