Photos: Former Club Avenida building on Moi Avenue collapses, four injured
A building that formerly housed Club Avenida lies in ruins after collapsing during a nighttime demolition exercise along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District, pictured on October 17, 2026. The incident left four people injured and raised concerns over safety at demolition sites.
UPDATE 12:30 pm:
A statement by Nairobi City County said the building collapsed during “a planned structural demolition to facilitate site preparation for redevelopment.”
“A total of 24 workers were reported present on-site. Four workers sustained injuries, with three receiving treatment at Kenyatta National Hospital.
Comprehensive primary and secondary searches, including the deployment of canine search teams, were completed by 0150 hours.
A personnel accountability exercise confirmed that all individuals on-site have been accounted for. There are no fatalities,” the county said in a statement signed by the Ministry of Built Environment.
The statement added that machinery had been deployed to clear the debris, with county fire and rescue personnel joining the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU) to coordinate site operations.
“A structural safety assessment will be conducted before any further activity is permitted at the location,” the statement said.
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A demolition exercise carried out in the early hours of Saturday morning along Moi Avenue turned disastrous when a building that once housed Club Avenida collapsed, leaving four people injured.
A building that formerly housed Club Avenida lies in ruins after collapsing during a nighttime demolition exercise along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District, pictured on October 17, 2026. The incident left four people injured and raised concerns over safety at demolition sites.
Nairobi City County Chief Officer for Citizen Engagement and Customer Service Geoffrey Mosiria confirmed the incident on his X account on October 17 at 2:41 am.
A building that formerly housed Club Avenida lies in ruins after collapsing during a nighttime demolition exercise along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District, pictured on October 17, 2026. The incident left four people injured and raised concerns over safety at demolition sites.
He wrote, "Tonight, along Moi Avenue in the CBD, a building that formerly housed Club Avenida collapsed during demolition, injuring four people. We thank God the incident happened at night when there was minimal human traffic along the road, as lives could have been lost."
Mosiria appealed to developers to strictly comply with county laws during construction and demolition and work closely with county engineers to ensure safety and protect lives.
Avenida closed its doors without much warning, fuelling speculation on social media. Its last social media post was made in April 2026. In the first week of October, the building that housed it was cordoned off, ostensibly for redevelopment.
A building that formerly housed Club Avenida lies in ruins after collapsing during a nighttime demolition exercise along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District, pictured on October 17, 2026. The incident left four people injured and raised concerns over safety at demolition sites.
Nairobi Women Representative Esther Passaris said the incident was a reminder that public safety must remain central to Nairobi’s urban development. She called for stronger enforcement of building regulations and stricter supervision of demolition work.
“I call for closer collaboration among county authorities, developers, engineers, contractors, residents and other stakeholders, as well as a review of existing legislation to address regulatory gaps, strengthen accountability and ensure compliance with safety standards,” she said.
A building that formerly housed Club Avenida lies in ruins after collapsing during a nighttime demolition exercise along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District, pictured on October 17, 2026. The incident left four people injured and raised concerns over safety at demolition sites.
She urged leaders to champion policies that protect lives and promote responsible urban development, warning that no development was worth a human life.
Preliminary reports indicate that supporting metal beams on the less stable side of the building were cut, triggering the collapse.
The cause of Saturday’s collapse had not been established by the time of publication.
The incident adds to a history of building failures in Nairobi, where concerns over structural integrity, construction standards and regulatory enforcement have repeatedly come to the fore.
In January 2014, three people were injured when a two-storey building undergoing demolition collapsed near the junction of Accra Road and Dubois Road in downtown Nairobi, according to the National Construction Authority’s research on building failures.
A building that formerly housed Club Avenida lies in ruins after collapsing during a nighttime demolition exercise along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District, pictured on October 17, 2026. The incident left four people injured and raised concerns over safety at demolition sites.
The report cited the use of manual tools during demolition among the recorded circumstances of the incident.
More recently, a building under construction in Nairobi’s South C estate collapsed in the early hours of January 2, 2026, prompting a multi-agency rescue operation.
Two bodies were recovered from the debris, according to an update issued by the National Construction Authority on January 7. The authority said investigations were underway to establish the probable cause of the collapse.
The recurring incidents have renewed scrutiny of compliance with building regulations and the oversight of construction and demolition projects, particularly in densely populated urban areas where structural failures can endanger workers, pedestrians and occupants of neighbouring buildings.
The latest incident places renewed focus on the need to establish whether demolition procedures were followed and whether adequate safeguards were in place to protect workers and the public along one of Nairobi CBD’s busiest streets.
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