South C building collapse: Residents call tragedy 'foreseeable and preventable'

The South C Residents Association (SouCRA) has described Friday’s collapse of a 16-storey building in Nairobi as a foreseeable and preventable tragedy resulting from sustained regulatory failure by the Nairobi City County Government.

In a statement issued by Chairman Dr. Abdulmalik Gichuki, an architect, the association expressed sorrow over the incident and urged agencies to deploy resources for rescue and recovery operations.

"For several years, the South C Residents Association has formally and repeatedly raised concerns with the Nairobi City County Government regarding the approval of developments contrary to applicable zoning, density, and height guidelines within South C," Dr. Gichuki stated.

The association criticized selective enforcement practices where site agents and workers are arrested while developers, financiers, and professional consultants remain unaccountable, resulting in weak prosecutions.

Based on visual observations, the collapse appears to have initiated at the lower levels, with debris configuration suggesting loss of load-bearing capacity in primary structural elements.

"Such loss of capacity may arise from a range of factors, including but not limited to: inadequate structural design, non-compliant reinforcement detailing, substandard material quality, excessive construction-stage loading, or departures from approved plans." Dr. Gichuki noted.

SouCRA invoked the Physical and Land Use Planning Act of 2019, saying, “This ruling validates long-standing concerns that many approvals issued by the County are legally vulnerable, thereby exposing residents, construction workers, and investors to avoidable risk and exposing the County itself to significant legal liability.”

The association demanded that the county publish within seven days the complete approval record of the collapsed building, including plans and names of all professionals involved.

They want investigations targeting developers and licensed professionals, not just site workers, and disciplinary action against implicated county officials.

SouCRA is calling for an immediate moratorium on new high-rise approvals in South C pending a safety audit, establishment of a legally compliant approval framework, and independent third-party construction inspections.

Dr. Gichuki stressed that residents only oppose unlawful, unsafe, and unaccountable development that places lives at risk.

The statement ended with a stark message: "No more warnings. No more ignored letters. No more preventable tragedies."