The foreman of the seven-storey building that collapsed in Seasons, Kasarani, reportedly led some of the construction workers to their death trap.
Reports indicated that the foreman, on Tuesday, November 15, ordered some of the workers to hide in the building ahead of an inspection conducted by officials from the Nairobi County Government.
The officials declared the building unfit and consequently ordered the immediate cessation of any construction activities pending further direction.
During the mid-morning evaluation, eight workers were arrested by city council officers, popularly known as kanjos.
After they left, the men and women came out of their hiding and continued working on several floors of the towering structure.
Witnesses told the press that hours later, at 2 p.m, the building began caving in from one side. They tried to alert some of the workers, but only a few heeded their call.
"We saw the house start crumbling, and we began screaming to alert some of those who were inside to run for their lives, but some of them ignored," an eyewitness recalled.
Two workers, including a woman hired for the day, escaped by jumping off to the next building before the structure completely caved in.
At least 10 people were trapped inside the building, with unconfirmed reports projecting the number to rise.
Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), the Kenya Red Cross and county emergency officers led the rescue operations at the scene.
The building was the second structure to collapse in Nairobi in the past weeks. On November 7, a six-storey structure under construction crumbled in Tassia, Embakasi.
Engineering Board of Kenya (EBK) Registrar, Margaret Ogai noted that the number of collapsing buildings increased due to poor construction and design practices and a lack of professional engineers overseeing the operation.
Lands Cabinet Secretary Zachariah Njeru stated that the government will compel landlords to insure their buildings before they can be approved for use to protect tenants from loss in the event of a collapse.
