Huruma building tragedy blamed on corruption

The Huruma building collapse that claimed at least 20 lives and left scores injured and others missing has been linked to mega corruption in the housing construction industry.

According to the Chief Quantity Surveyor Moses Nyakiongora, the building was among those inspected and found unfit for human habitation and earmarked for demolition.

Nyakiongora says a total of 2,601 buildings had been inspected in Nairobi City out of which 226 deserve urgent attention.

He, however, accused the landlords of negligence and irresponsibility saying they conspired with contractors to erect sub-standard houses in risky areas.

The seven storey building in Huruma was built on a riparian land on the banks of Nairobi River and came down during the heavy rains on Friday night.

Nairobi Senator Gideon Mbuvi alias Mike Sonko lashed out at Nairobi County executive over what he termed as laxity in ensuring safety standards are never compromised while building residential houses.

The Senator said instead of inspection as agreed earlier, massive graft was allowed to blossom leading to the current loss of lives.