The 16-storey building that collapsed in South C, Nairobi, had been flagged at least three times by Nairobi City County enforcement teams before it finally gave way on Friday morning. Official records now show that the developer continued construction despite repeated warnings, regulatory action, and clear instructions to stop work. The collapse has intensified scrutiny on enforcement failures and ongoing construction impunity in the city.
According to Nairobi City County and the National Construction Authority, the building exceeded its approved construction limits and was non-compliant at the time of collapse. County officials confirmed that enforcement teams raised red flags in May, July, and December 2025 after discovering that the developer had extended the project beyond the approved number of floors. Despite these interventions, construction continued uninterrupted until the early hours of Friday when the structure collapsed, burying at least four people beneath the debris.
Documents reviewed by authorities show that the contractor had been formally instructed to stop further development immediately and resubmit revised plans for re-evaluation. The developer was given 14 days to comply with these directives. None of the conditions were met, and work on the site continued openly.
How many times was the South C building flagged before collapsing?
Nairobi County Government’s Urban Planning Department confirmed that the building was flagged three separate times in 2025. Each inspection identified violations tied to unauthorized expansion beyond the approved design. These warnings were not informal notices but documented enforcement actions that required immediate compliance.
There was also confusion around how many floors the building had reached at the time of collapse. The National Construction Authority stated that construction was ongoing on the 16th floor. Nairobi County officials placed the figure at the 15th floor, while the Public Service Cabinet Secretary indicated the building had reached the 14th floor. Regardless of the discrepancy, all official accounts agree that the project had exceeded its approved scope.
Police records further show that three people working at the site, Farah Hassan Jacub, Abdiaziz Hassan Jakub, and Wycliffe Omondi Onyango, were arrested in July 2025 following one of the inspections. They were later released on a Ksh.20,000 cash bail. Construction resumed shortly after, raising questions about the effectiveness of enforcement measures and follow-up inspections.
What role did regulatory failures play in the collapse?
The National Construction Authority confirmed that the project was non-compliant and that investigations into the collapse are ongoing. Crucially, the authority revealed that the developer, Abyan Consulting Limited, was operating without a valid license. The firm’s annual practicing license, issued on August 1, 2023, expired on July 31, 2024. Despite this, construction continued for months afterward.
This case has revived painful memories of past construction disasters linked to negligence and weak enforcement. In 2016, a building collapse in Huruma Estate claimed the lives of more than 37 people. In September 2022, another building caved in within Kiambu County, leaving multiple fatalities. Two years ago, a separate collapse along Juja Road in Eastleigh killed four people. Investigations into those incidents also pointed to ignored warnings and regulatory lapses.
By Lucky Anyanje