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Three people, including a mother and her two children, have died and scores of others injured after a six-storey building under construction collapsed in Kirigiti area of Kiambu town on Monday morning.
Nation reported that the victims died while being rushed to Kiambu Level IV Hospital after the unfinished building caved onto the adjacent residential houses.
A search and rescue operation is still ongoing, Kiambu County Police Commander Perminius Kioi said.
Through social media, Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi said several people were trapped in the debris and rescue operation is underway.
"Several people have already been pulled out of the rubble, and rushed to the hospital. Sadly, some are feared to have succumbed to their injuries,” he said via Facebook.
The governor said the operation is being conducted by a multi-agency team comprising Kiambu County Fire & Disaster Management Department, National Youth Service, Kenya Police, Kenya Defense Forces, Kenya Red Cross and volunteers.
“It is unfortunate that we have lost three lives this morning and my administration will make sure these incidences do not occur anymore. Currently, we are working with other government agencies to ascertain whether the developer had met all the necessary requirements and approvals before embarking with the construction. If not, necessary action will be taken,” Wamatangi told journalists at the scene.
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Corruption will continue killing us until the holloi polloi rises up, isn’t it peculiar that it never used to happen in the 70s and 80s when corruption had not taken root in the country? It’s now the norm to be corrupt, the more corrupt you get, the higher your chance of being elected into leadership, sadly by the same holloi polloi that will suffer and die due to poor and corrupt leadership. If you don’t believe me look no further than the presidency right now, the epitome of corruption in our country.
It’s all Mlevi’s fault!
I wonder why Kimani s/o Karuga & building Inspectorate unit could not stop the hurried/24 hour construction of the building to avert the deaths.He had been the area senator for ten year while the inspectors were still there when construction started.Kioi should arrest all those inspectors first before he goes for the constructor and developer/owner.
I own akaploti next to a 3 storey residential building that will fall someday . It's owned by a walalo.We all know walalos, Ukuyus etc and low quality corrupt deals in Kenya. My worry is what do I do to have the unsafe building inspected before I begin my construction?...
This has to be the 3rd or 4th building under construction to have collapsed in Kiambu in the last 3 years.
It always amazes me why someone would invest say 50 million to build a multi-storey house and then cut corner during construction just to save a few thousand bucks, and when it collapses, it all goes to waste. Why not do it right. Such a house can lasts more than a hundred years with minimal maintenance, and would be a very good investment.
It is common to start building a multi-storey building and then start renting out the bottom floors as you continue to build upper floors. That is mind boggling. It is a disaster waiting to happen. First, the building should be build completely and then a certificate of occupancy given, failure to which these building keep on collapsing and taking away lifes. Of course everybody knows that, the inspectors and county council officials are compromised and kitu kidogo is the order of the day.