Multiple Kenyans remain missing after a building collapsed on October 23 in a busy commercial center in Nairobi, burying dozens shopping below.
A 16-story building collapsed in Nairobi’s Eastleigh neighborhood, one of the fastest-growing neighborhoods, crushing those frequenting any of the eleven shops on the ground level. Ten of the upper floors had been under construction when the building suddenly collapsed from above. Officials have not yet announced an official cause, though some form of structural failure likely occurred.
In a press conference after the collapse, Kenya Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen reassured the public that 66 of the 67 construction workers on the building were unharmed. County-level disaster response teams and the Kenya Red Cross used phone signals to locate civilians presumed missing. However, 52 people were still missing three days after the collapse, as confirmed in a statement by Nairobi North Regional County Commissioner Simon Osumba.
Shoppers and other civilians were not supposed to be in the building, which hadn’t received a certificate of occupation yet, technically barring anyone from setting up shop while it was under construction. However, the developers permitted shop owners to operate on the lower levels, leaving the residents of Eastleigh vulnerable to the disaster of October 23.
According to Ken Opalo, Associate Professor of Political Science at Georgetown University and a native of Thika, Kenya (near Nairobi), this is common practice. He told The Caravel, “It is common for buildings to be finished in stages. This often means that tenants (commercial and residential) get to occupy lower floors as construction of upper floors continues. Obviously, this presents major safety concerns. However, the authorities generally look the other way as everyone understands that financing is hard to come by, so property investors seek to get immediate cash flow from their investments by admitting tenants as quickly as possible.”
Kenyans have begun pointing out the high frequency of building collapses. One estimate reports 83 collapses and 88 deaths across the country since 2020, following 87 collapses and 200 deaths in the five years before 2020. This year alone, there were 24 collapses, the most in at least six years. Most of these occurred in Nairobi.
Professor Opalo reflected, “Building collapses are not ‘common’ in the strict sense. However, the incidence of collapses has gone up in the recent past, given that the city [of Nairobi] has been going through a property boom. Furthermore, new buildings are much taller than they used to, which also raises the risk of collapse.”
More than half of building collapses occur during construction. Although construction regulations exist, enforcement is lacking. For example, in January, a 12-story building collapsed in Nairobi after developers added more floors than the government approved. Moreover, poor workmanship and materials facilitate structural weakness and eventual collapse. The fragile enforcement structure enables developers to deviate from construction plans, take shortcuts, and carry out dangerous modifications.
Professor Opalo commented, “There is a growing sense that contractors are not as professional as they used to be, which means that some buildings get erected using substandard materials that are not up to code (thereby increasing the risk of collapse).”
The governor of Nairobi County, Johnson Sakaja, complained to AP News that violators of building laws only receive a “slap on the wrist,” preserving the precedent of illegal construction practices and future building collapses.
Four people have so far been rescued from the Eastleigh building collapse. Kenyan public safety officials have reassured the public that everything is being done to locate and rescue everyone trapped in the rubble. Nevertheless, as Nairobi keeps growing, stronger regulatory enforcement is crucial to ensure sustainable construction practices and Kenyans' safety.