Collapsed Juja building owner was in court over site deaths

Fresh details emerging now reveal that the owner of the six storey building that collapsed on Wednesday night in Juja was due in court for manslaughter and for flaunting orders to stop construction of the building.

According to James Ndung’u, the county officer for Lands, Housing, planning and urban development, the accused had been stopped twice by the department from building at night and for lack of proper approvals.

According to Ndung’u, two foremen are reported to have died last year in November after a crane used to ferry stones up stairs fell on them from the top floor.

Mr. Ndung’u said that a manhunt for the owner who is still at large has been launched adding that he will face additional charges of carrying out construction without proper approvals.

Speaking when he toured the scene, Kiambu Regional Coordinator for National Construction Authority Eric Miseda said that the building materials used in the construction were of sub-standard quality adding that safety measures and precautions were also not followed during the construction.

Miseda also raised concern over the speed at which the construction was done adding that given ample time to dry was not factored.

The owner of the building is reported to have been at the site during the time the building collapsed.