President calls for action against poorly constructed buildings

An aerial view of a residential building in Huruma that collapsed on April 30, 2016. The President visited the scene and instructed officials of the Interior Ministry and the county government to undertake a survey of all the houses in the area to find out those which are at risk of collapsing. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • It covered most parts of Eastlands, Dagoretti, Kasarani, Zimmerman, Roysambu, Githurai 44 and 45, Garden Estate, Thome, and Kilimani.
  • The Nyakiongora report also recommended the implementation of structural tests on all buildings classified as unsafe.
  • From the survey, it was found that Dagoretti leads in structurally sound buildings while Huruma exhibited most cases with questionable structural integrity.

An audit report on the state of buildings in the city that was ordered by President Uhuru Kenyatta early last year after the collapse a building in Nairobi’s Huruma estate continues to gather dust as its recommendations are yet to be implemented by City Hall and National Construction Authority.

The report seen by Sunday Nation was presented to government in November 2015 and made far reaching recommendations.

This comes in the wake of the Friday evening collapse of yet another building in Huruma following a heavy downpour.

On Saturday, the President visited the scene and instructed officials of the Interior Ministry and the county government to undertake a survey of all the houses in the area to find out those which are at risk of collapsing.

The audit carried last year had already identified houses which were not structurally sound.

It covered most parts of Eastlands, Dagoretti, Kasarani, Zimmerman, Roysambu, Githurai 44 and 45, Garden Estate, Thome, and Kilimani.

In its recommendation, the audit team chaired by Mr Moses Nyakiongora, recommended among other things, “the evacuation of residents in buildings which have shown structural failures and are classified as dangerous even before structural tests are performed.”

The Nyakiongora report also recommended the implementation of structural tests on all buildings classified as unsafe.

It further called for all buildings be connected to sewer lines and removal of all structures encroaching on the road reserves and drainage way leaves.

From the survey, it was found that Dagoretti leads in structurally sound buildings while Huruma exhibited most cases with questionable structural integrity.

In an ominous observation, it notes that Huruma has already started experiencing urban decay and deterioration and called for total replanning of the area and urban redevelopment.

“A total of 2,035 buildings were inspected and from the analysis, it can be noted that only 64 per cent of the buildings have attained the required structural standards while the rest require further scientific investigations with a view of strengthening them and those that cannot be strengthened to be immediately demolished,” reads the report.

The report concluded that buildings collapse because of poor quality of concrete, lack of proper foundation and use of substandard building stones.

Ironically, there are previous interventions on the state of city buildings, all of which remain unimplemented.

They include the 1996 Mutiso commission of inquiry into the collapse of Sun Beam building, the 2007 inquiry into the collapse of the Kihonge building on Ronald Ngala street.

There was also the building laws and regulations review and harmonisation committee in 2008 and a 2013 study of security and safety of the built environment in Nairobi.