226 buildings in Nairobi fail to meet construction standards

About 226 buildings in Nairobi County that do not meet construction standards are now set to be demolished following the collapse of a residential building in Huruma, Nairobi that led to the death of 20 people.

The building inspectorate secretary in the Public Works Ministry, Moses Nyakiohoro, told Citizen Digital that so far 2,601 buildings have been inspected in a bid to clear the county of dangerous structures.

Nyakiohoro has revealed that in Huruma alone, 57 out of nearly 500 buildings already inspected don’t meet structural standards and face demolition if they fail further tests that are expected to be done soon.

Institute of Engineers of Kenya chair, Eng Michael Okonji, has accused private developers of using shortcuts by hiring quacks during construction and ignoring licensed engineers.

Eng Okonji pledged to take action by revoking the license of any licensed engineer who is a member of the institute found culpable in the Huruma tragedy and any other.

They were speaking during a joint briefing by officers from the State Department of Public Works, National Construction Authority, National Building Inspectorate, Board of Registration of Architects and Quantity Surveyors, Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya, Association of Architects of Kenya and Nairobi County.

On Sunday Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero told Citizen Digital that the county government is tied down by court injunctions sought by rogue developers whenever it tries to bring down condemned buildings.