The Engineering Board of Kenya (EBK) has explained the surge in incidents of collapsing buildings recorded in the last two months.
The board estimated that in the month of September, a total of six storey buildings collapsed - most of which were still under construction.
EBK Registrar Eng. Margaret Ogai noted that the number had shot up due to poor construction and design practices.
Ogai further explained that in most of the buildings, no professional engineers registered with the board were commissioned to oversee the operation - a practice promoted by sneaky developers.
The registrar further noted that upon investigations, some of the collapsed buildings had not been registered by the local governments yet they were ongoing.
"There is no evidence of involvement of professional engineers in the project in Ololua, Kajiado County. The Board is carrying out further investigations and will share the report on the findings and recommendations to mitigate the collapse of buildings," stated Ogai in line with one of the collapsed buildings.
The registrar, therefore, urged developers to engage professional engineers, registered and licensed by EBK for sound design and proper construction process.
"This will not only prevent the needless loss of lives and investment, but also ensure the investors, developers and clients get value for money for their projects," she added.
How to Spot Fake Engineer
According to EBK, all engineers and consulting firms can be confirmed through their website www(dot)ebk(dot)go(dot)ke.
The country has a total of 20,013 graduate engineers, 2,535 professional engineers, 208 temporary professional engineers and 498 consulting firms.
On November 8, EBK also faulted poor foundation of the eight-storey building that collapsed on Monday, November 7, in Tassia, Embakasi.
According to the engineers, the building lacked a proper foundation and was not strong enough to hold the weight.
"When a building like this collapses, the first thing that comes to mind is it was not strong enough. The foundation and the entire support system should be questioned," the institution's vice chairperson, Grace Muthoni, stated on Tuesday, November 8.
"If the design was not done properly, then the contractor failed to follow the house design. There are so many questions to be asked in these situations," she added.
A welder lost his life in the building when he rushed back in to secure his working tools.
