The Government has begun the process of bringing down about 1,437 condemned residential buildings feared to be on the verge of collapse.
According to an audit report prepared by National Buildings Chief Quantity Surveyor Inspectorate Moses Nyakiongora, 650 buildings are categorised as very dangerous with another 826 declared unsafe.
Huruma estate has the largest number of buildings set for demolition at 711, other areas where buildings have already been brought down include Imara Daima and Zimmerman.
"The county has evacuated families in these buildings and we will embark on a mission to demolish two in Zimmerman and six in Huruma while we continue to test those mentioned in the report," Government Engineer Samuel Charagu told the Standard.
[caption caption="Residents gather at the site of collapsed Huruma building in April 2016"]
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Charagu observed that one of the buildings to be knocked down has six floors with 10 rooms on each thus housing close to 200 people on each floor.
"It is unsafe to have so many people on just one floor of a building which does not meet the required standards," he stated.
The engineer further stated that some 651 buildings required immediate testing, 185 of these already mapped out in Pipeline Estate.
"We have tested 48 buildings and 40 cannot be rectified, which means we will demolish. Others have been given a deadline to rectify the situation," he clarified.
According to the county government, 34 buildings have been cleared after they were found to have major structural defects.
Since January 2018, two buildings have collapsed - one in Kariobangi South and another at Stage Mpya area in Pipeline.
[caption caption="Rescuers responding to 2016 building collapse in Huruma where 49 people perished"]
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