Huruma building did not have occupation certificate-NCA

Huruma building did not have occupation certificate-NCA

Following the death of 8 people and the displacement of 150 families that resulted from the collapse of a building in Huruma Nairobi, it has emerged that the building was not fit for occupation.

The Chairman of the National Construction Authority (NCA) Stephen Oundo has stated that the building had no occupation certificate from the authority.

Oundo further stated that the building owners had no authorisation from the NCA, an indicator that they had not fulfilled regulatory requirements for occupation.

He NCA boss raised concern about the quality of finished buildings in the city, saying that they have no authority to inspect completed buildings as their jurisdiction only extends to ongoing constructions.

He also hinted at foul play on the part of industry players: “A lot of the buildings had me marked last year but there are cartels involved that makes it difficult to do operations.”

Nairobi Deputy Governor Jonathan Mweke has echoed Oundo’s concerns, stating that over 70% of the buildings in Nairobi do not have government approval.

Speaking in Huruma on Saturday morning, an NCA official who has been on site since the collapse asked Nairobi residents to make sure that their homes are suitable for consumption.

“If you are in a building that has been marked ‘X’ please do not wait for the building to collapse; move our immediately. That ‘X’ means that there are issues with the habitability of the building,” he warned.

This is not the first time that questions have been raised about the safety of buildings constructed in Nairobi.

In January 2015 another building collapsed in Huruma, killing four people and injuring many others.

Five months later, a commercial building in Zimmerman collapsed, barely a month after it was found to be defective.

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Huruma Huruma building Huruma building collapse

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