The developer of an 18-storey building that collapsed in Nairobi’s Eastleigh area could have lost at least Sh150 million, according to the Association of Consulting Engineers of Kenya (ACEK), as engineers turn up the pressure on Nairobi City County to tighten enforcement of building regulations.
ACEK has challenged City Hall to take responsibility for preventing unsafe construction, arguing that authorities cannot continue blaming rogue developers while failing to enforce existing laws and construction standards.
ACEK secretary Dick Omondi says that initial estimates show that the building collapsed due to the failure of structural supports.
“We are putting the loss to at least Sh150 million hiring an engineer to oversee the project would have been cheaper,” said Omondi.
The October 23 collapse has renewed scrutiny of building approvals, site inspections and professional supervision in Nairobi’s rapidly expanding property market, raising questions about whether regulatory agencies are adequately monitoring construction projects.
“It is a bit disingenuous to tell us that our government is not able to take action against certain rogue individuals,” said Eng. Jane Mutulili, the former chairperson of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Kenya.
“That is not the kind of message that we should be sending to our people.”
The association said county and national governments have the legal powers to enforce building regulations and should ensure that developers, contractors and construction professionals comply with approved plans and safety requirements.
ACEK has offered to provide engineers to investigate the collapse without charging for their services, saying a forensic examination should establish the cause of the failure and identify weaknesses in the construction oversight system.
The association said the offer remained open and was awaiting a response from Nairobi City County.
“That offer is still there. The offer is on the table. It is up to City Hall to take it up,” ACEK president Eng. Gabriel Jabong’o said.
The association wants the investigation to examine not only the immediate cause of the collapse but also whether building approvals, construction supervision and regulatory inspections were properly conducted.
Jabong’o cautioned against speculating about the cause before investigators establish the facts.
In a statement, he identified structural design deficiencies, poor workmanship, substandard materials, unauthorised changes to approved drawings, inadequate supervision, overloading and weak foundations as possible causes of building collapses.
Failure to comply with building regulations and weak inspection and enforcement mechanisms could also contribute to such incidents, he said.
“Public safety must never be compromised in the pursuit of expediency or cost savings,” Jabong’o said.
ACEK has also questioned whether county governments have enough technical personnel to supervise the growing number of construction projects, warning that issuing building approvals without effective monitoring leaves gaps in enforcement.
The body has urged developers to engage qualified and registered consulting engineers from the initial design stage through construction and completion.
It has also warned against unauthorised alterations, including adding floors beyond a building’s approved design or structural capacity.
The association argues that the cost of engaging qualified professionals is small compared with the potential financial losses and human consequences of a collapse.
Accountability, it says, should be based on evidence and due process, with responsibility potentially extending to developers, contractors, design consultants, site supervisors or regulatory authorities if investigations establish negligence or failures in enforcement.
ACEK has separately raised concerns about cases in which engineers’ names, signatures or professional stamps may be used without their consent to associate them with construction projects.
It says the National Construction Authority (NCA) should verify the professionals assigned to projects and investigate cases where engineers dispute having approved or supervised particular developments.
The collapse has also prompted calls for broader changes to Kenya’s building approval and enforcement systems.
The Architects Alliance (TAA), in a separate statement, called for an independent technical investigation into the Eastleigh incident, with findings on approvals, supervision, inspections and enforcement made public.
“Building collapses should not become an accepted feature of urban development in Kenya. Each incident raises fundamental questions about the integrity of our construction industry, the effectiveness of regulatory institutions and the value placed on human life,” President The Architects Alliance Sylvia Kasanga.
