Citizen TV anchor turned pundit, Yvonne Okwara's, warning over deadly tragedies striking Kenya has come to pass, after a building collapsed in Tassia, Nairobi on Friday, December 6, 2019.
The six-storey building trapped several residents and rescue efforts are currently ongoing in the area.
On September 26, Okwara had warned leaders that if they did not move to prevent such disasters from happening, Kenyans would continue losing their lives.
"How many years shall we take to learn these lessons? How many lives will it cost us from quoting 'learn from our mistakes'. Haven't we learnt in the past when buildings collapsed like in Huruma in 2016, where 50 lives were lost?" Okwara wondered.
Okwara was responding to Nairobi Woman Representative, Esther Passaris' protest about being labelled a disaster celebrity, after she rushed to Precious Talent School tragedy scene in September 2019, to assist the affected families.
Senator Millicent Omanga too, on Wednesday, September 25, demanded an apology from the media for being branded a disaster celebrity.
"With all due respect madam, this was no accident. A building that did not pass safety requirements collapsed. It was not an accident. Some people should be held responsible for that. Which lessons are this that you want us to learn exactly," Okwara argued.
According to the journalist, the country has leaders who should hold people to account, influence policies and ensure implementation of safety standards but instead, they point fingers after tragedies have occurred.
"Kenyans are dying while politicians are playing on stage to a non-existent audience. Fellow citizens, we need no more audits and studies. We do not elect leaders to praise us for our heroes and to mourn with us, we can do that for ourselves.
"After all, the bible says that God hears prayers where two or three are gathered. It has not stated that a politician has to be there. We elected them to prevent these disasters from happening," Okwara criticised.
In 2016, Tassia was among the several estates in Nairobi that were flagged for hosting substandard buildings.
Video: Citizen TV
