How badly aerated and lit buildings are making city residents sick

By now, Pipeline Estate in Nairobi’s Eastlands is not just a place. It is a metaphor, a rueful joke that has become a mainstay in casual conversations.

Even those who have never been there can conjure up an image — buildings pressed tightly together blocking out any access to natural light. This extends deep inside, where countless rooms exist in a perpetual state of dimness. 

Walk down the block of flats during the day and you will be surprised how much darkness you can see. It’s a visual eyesore, a symbol of defiance in building regulations and bylaws.

Yet outside, it is a buzz of activities. 

On one corner, there is a woman making chapati and in another, a tailor. The stories they tell when they gather are a catalogue of damp houses — which baby has fallen ill, or which antibiotics they are using.

To access many of these buildings via the staircases, we had to use a phone as our artificial source of light.

Initially, interviewing residents in this specific estate seemed straightforward. Within a short time, we could count many flats whose corridors were pitch dark and front shops that were solely reliant on artificial lighting and electricity.

Our first respondent shared how her pregnant sister suffered repeated respiratory infections, ultimately forcing her to leave the city because of the health of her unborn child. Yet, when Healthy Nation asked her to share her story on camera, she let out a nervous chuckle. She said, ‘surely, I can’t talk about a house that I chose to live in willingly. But it is a big problem here and even when we go to the hospital with flu-like symptoms or chest issues, it often begins with the question, “Do you live in Pipeline Estate?”.

This prevalent theme emerged from conversations with pharmacists across the estate — a surge in cases of flu-like illnesses, respiratory difficulties, nagging headaches and other health complications attributed to the dimly lit living conditions within the estate.

And that is perhaps the most astonishing thing about many people living in dark houses here: many do it voluntarily. 

“The proximity to many industries providing casual work opportunities is a major draw,” one resident explained. “Also, when you rent houses without access to natural light, it is considerably cheaper than upper floors,” she said.

In Kawangware neighbourhood, we meet Immaculate Mukami, whose name we have changed to protect her identity from potential landlord retaliation. Despite the afternoon sun blazing outside, upon entering her home, we are met with complete darkness.

For her, the line between day and night blurs when the lights are off.  “When there is no light, the house is stuffy and I am forced to keep the door and the window open.  The house is also very cold such that during the day my family spends most of the time outside,” she offers.

Immaculate, a mother of three,  lives on the ground floor of a recently constructed two-storey building. On the upper floor are mabati houses, which are just are dimly lit as her house. When there is no power, which is prevalent in her area, she goes for a candle. “When I don’t have money to buy one, I use my phone,” she offers.

She adds: “I don’t own many electronics except for a TV and woofer speaker, yet I spend Sh100 on electricity every three days. But with natural light, this amount can last me for the entire month,” she explains. 

In October last year, doctors diagnosed Immaculate with pneumonia.  This diagnosis came on the heels of one of her three children overcoming the same illness. “I have lived here for close to two years now and the one constant we have faced is frequent illness. As we speak my children have a common flu. Antibiotics have become a part of our lives.  One moment the children are fine, the next they’re feverish.  The rainy season is worse– they’re trapped inside, constantly battling one illness after the other. The days are chilly, but then the nights turn stifling so we have to sleep with the window open to let some fresh air in. On days that I am not going to work, I can sleep for the entire day, ” she offers.

She explains that she moved there because the house is big enough to accommodate her family. “I would want to move out but finding a place that is this big with the same rent is difficult. So, we endure. You tell yourself, I will surely find a way to live with the situation,” she admits.

On stepping outside, the immediate change is striking: the cold floor beneath our feet is replaced by the warmth of the sun. The houses are arranged in a line, with a connecting corridor running along their backs, leading to other units. Although the corridor offers a fleeting glimpse of light, it leads only to another house shrouded in darkness.

Jacinta Nyaboke, whose name has also been altered, is quick to show us a solar-powered lamp, which is her lifeline. “I ensure that it is charged because this is what we use during the day. If it’s not on and we have no electricity, the house is dark, cold and stuffy,” she offers.

Like Immaculate, Jacinta, who is a mother to grownup children, moved here because of space and proximity to the road. It came at a cost.

“At one point, mould practically took over my house, growing on just about everything. From the carpet and cupboard to the jerricans.  It felt like something was rotten in my house. Now I ensure that I air my stuff frequently to prevent a repeat,” she offers.

For her, the biggest challenge is the cold that comes with the house and the dark splotches growing on her furniture. “I leave the house very early and come late so I don’t mind the lack of natural light.,” she offers.

Once primarily found in lower-middle-class estates, these types of houses are becoming increasingly common across the city, even in affluent neighbourhoods like Kilimani and Kileleshwa. “It’s a hidden danger, “Dr Jeremy Gitau, an emergency care specialist based in Nairobi, warns.

“Light plays a crucial role in our daily lives, impacting various aspects, including vision. Have you ever experienced the discomfort of stepping out of a dimly lit room into bright sunlight? This is because our eyes adjust to the level of light they’re exposed to, a process called accommodation. This adaptation takes time, which is why people often complain of temporary vision problems when transitioning from darkness to bright environments,” he explains.

Beyond vision, Dr Gitau explains that light exposure has a well-documented impact on mood and well-being. Studies have shown a connection between reduced sunlight and increased risk of depression. In one study published in Nature.org and involving more than 100,000 people, the researchers found a strong linear association between more night-time light exposure and self-reported major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder and four other mental health disorders.

The scientists found that artificial sources of light from electric bulbs, torches and candles may be messing with the setting of our circadian rhythm.  This is the body’s natural timekeeper that regulates sleep-wake cycles, production of sleep-inducing hormones and body temperature.

“The other issue is the proliferation of microorganisms like bacteria and fungi. These organisms thrive in damp and dark conditions, making poorly lit spaces more susceptible to their growth. So you find that people who are living in these environments keep getting recurrent infections. Individuals with pre-existing conditions like asthma or allergies may experience frequent flare-ups, making it challenging to pinpoint the exact cause. Upon closer examination, however, we often discover a link to the living conditions,” offers Dr Gitau.
In such places, he says conditions such as rickets are common because children are not getting enough exposure to sunlight or spaces to play due to the many buildings nestled together. 

“We strongly recommend that even in challenging housing situations, residents prioritise opening windows for ventilation and fresh air circulation or spending time outdoors to catch sunlight,” he offers.

The lack of proper ventilation and sunlight points towards systemic issues within housing development itself. The first step when constructing a building in Kenya involves planning and designing the premises and this is where developers, engineers and architects come into play.

The owner of the project is responsible for initiating the construction process and may decide to hire a project manager to oversee it on their behalf. 

According to the Architects’ registration board, an architect is responsible for creating the detailed plans and designs for the project, which must comply with local building codes and regulations; whereas the engineering team is responsible for developing the structural and mechanical designs for the project, including the foundations, walls and utilities such as water and electricity.

The phase that follows is the documentation, approvals and construction. 

Approvals or permits are obtained from the county physical planning office, the public health office, the National Environment Management Authority of Kenya (Nema) and the National Construction Authority (NCA).

After the issuance of permits, procurement of materials follows after which construction begins and lastly the handing over of the building, which involves conducting final inspections to ensure that the project meets all the required standards and specifications, and transferring ownership of the completed project to the client or owner.

NCA says these “sickly buildings” exist because of low compliance and cost-cutting gimmicks by parties in the construction chain. 

 Maurice Aketch, the chief executive officer of NCA, breaks down the parties involved in the construction of a new building. “Everyone has a role to play, the client or developer who approaches an architect giving a brief of the kind of construction they want, who sat down to sketch this dream into reality,” says Mr Aketch.

“They discuss until they agree and then the plan is submitted at the county level under the Physical and Planning Act for approval. By the time the architect is developing these details, they are using the Building Code to provide adequately for the spaces prescribed to achieve the functionality and comfort to the intended user of the building.”

Mr Aketch notes that : “We have a standard that guides the construction of buildings called the Building Code of 1968 that has clear provisions for lighting and ventilation. For both, we have the natural and mechanical alternatives.”

However, Ryan Ngotho, a director at the Built Art Studios, says when drawings are sent for approval, architects are given a checklist. “If a drawing is approved, it means Nema and the county government allowed these buildings to be built and essentially someone turned a blind eye on ensuring they were compliant with the set standards, including the Building Code,” says Mr Ngotho.

The Building Code says that all common stairs and passages shall be adequately cross-ventilated for sufficient natural and artificial lighting should be provided. “In all parts of the building to which the public are admitted and in all passages, courts, ramps and stairways to which the public have access and which lead from the auditorium to outside the premises, there shall be provided means of illumination,” reads the Building Code in part.

The Architectural Association of Kenya President Florence Nyole says new buildings are not well-lit because of rising population and urbanisation.

“Before we had low-rise buildings but now we have high-rise ones and the air space has been taken over by construction.“One of the reasons we have dimly lit buildings is because people are building beacon to beacon, whereas we have specific regulations on how to build and ensure there is appropriate and enough lighting.”

Like Mr Aketch, Ms Nyole says people are flaunting the regulations and not leaving enough setbacks — the minimum amount of open space surrounding a building that must be maintained —  on properties for houses to get sufficient lighting and ventilation.

“There is a provision that you must provide enough setback on your parcel of land before construction to ensure even if another building comes up next door, you have enough natural lighting and ventilation,” adds Mr Aketch.

“In architecture, the global standard is that a building should be day-lit, there is a certain distance of the building you’re supposed to leave for example for the floor-to-ceiling height of three meters, your width should be a minimum of six metres and if you have a wider plot where you are trying to build, you should introduce a light well or an atrium,” adds Ms Nyole. 

[email protected], [email protected]