Eastleigh Building Had No Valid Occupation Certificate, Governor Sakaja Confirms

A multi-storey building under construction along 9th Street in Eastleigh has collapsed, with rescue teams including the Kenya Defence Forces working through the rubble to reach people feared trapped inside. The collapse has also opened a political fight over who allowed the structure to rise in the first place.

Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has come out swinging at the Nairobi County Government, demanding an independent investigation into what he describes as possible corruption and enforcement failure behind the disaster.

His argument is straightforward. Buildings do not collapse on busy streets without somebody, somewhere, having looked the other way. The MP wants investigators to trace how structural plans were approved, how permits were issued and how inspections were conducted, or not conducted, as the tower went up storey by storey.

Owino went further, asking directly whether some county officers took money to overlook violations. He did not name anyone, and no evidence of bribery has been made public, so his claim stands as an allegation rather than a finding. But it is an allegation with a familiar ring to anyone who has followed Nairobi’s construction sector.

Governor Johnson Sakaja has already confirmed the part that matters most: the collapsed building had no valid occupation certificate. In plain terms, the structure was never cleared for people to occupy. The governor also conceded that the law itself is part of the problem, saying penalties for zoning and construction violations are so lenient they barely register for a developer betting on cutting corners.

Source :https://nairobileo.co.ke/news/article/31021/babu-owino-goes-after-the-nairobi-county-government-after-eastleigh-building-collapse