5 bodies retrieved, 3 still trapped in collapsed Murang’a hotel: CS Macharia

Roads and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary James Macharia, during a site visit on Sunday, confirmed that one person has died in hospital, bringing to 6 the number of deaths from the Friday accident. 

Three people are, however, yet to be accounted for as CS Macharia says they expect the operations to be completed by the end of business on Sunday.

“We will not want to have a recurrence of this kind of incident because it negates all the good work which has been done. Developers must be clear that they are doing investment in a safe environment,” said Macharia.

“Greed should not be the determining factor that you want to build very quickly so that you can start getting returns, it should be the safety of the people who are constructing the building and the people who will use it once it is completed.” he added.

According to the CS, the building adjacent to the collapsed hotel was also under construction but has been condemned and will be demolished. 

He further added that the government is already searching for all personnel involved in construction of the building.

“The Directorate of Criminal Investigations has already started the process of hunting down all the professionals concerned both at the National government and at the county level,” stated Macharia.

The CS also noted that four thousand buildings have been marked as unsafe and further urged the National Buildings Inspectorate to fast-track their inspection.