News
One dead from collapsed Kiambu building
Members of the public at the scene where a building collapsed in Kiambu town, October 19, 2009. STEVE WAITHANJI
Posted Monday, October 19 2009 at 16:04
“We were just in the course of our work when stones started falling on the roof of our workshop. We ran to the far end of the workshop and it was a few minutes later that we realised what was happening,” said Mr Omari.
Roman Tango, who also works at the workshop, said he heard shouting before the building collapsed but it was not clear to tell what those inside the building were saying.
The site bore the signs of poor workmanship as residents pointed to a seemingly weak foundation visible from an excavated site next to the building.
A visibly shaken Mr Makau said the excavation of the site next to the collapsed building mainly contributed to the collapse, saying the construction had been sound and an engineer had been on site.
The building is said to have been booked by a leading supermarket chain but the Nation could not independently verify this.
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Submitted by karamajongPosted October 19, 2009 07:47 PM
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Submitted by KingJulian
This is really sad and one can only shudder at the thought that it was supposed to house a supermarket. This and all the other cases is what ultimately happens when there is flouting and lack of enforcement of regulations, which probably sums up the root of most of Kenya's problems.
Posted October 19, 2009 07:31 PM -
Submitted by TheBoss
While the greedy ministers continue their lousy politics, and councillors, mayors etc busy stealing, construction industry continues to build weak buildings and the citizens will continue to suffer! Imagine the town has no fire brigade!
Posted October 19, 2009 06:39 PM -
Submitted by abiudjohns
This is purely architectural negligence. Policies need to be made and enforced to save Kenyans from this guys. I do not want to live in my house fearing that it can collapse any moment due to poor workmanship.
Posted October 19, 2009 06:25 PM
RSS
So sad. As a kenyan structural engineer practicing in the US, it is painful to read about the loss of lives through such incidents. We need to strenghten our building regulations and educate building owners or investors of the need to have qualified professionals invloved to avoid not only a loss of lives but also time and money. The local professional organisations should should also clean up the quacks in the industry who do not even understand Newtons law but claim to be able to design a multi-storey building.