BONYO'S BONE: South C building: Then what?

On January 2nd this year, as Kenyans ushered in a new year with hope and celebration, tragedy struck along Muhoho Road in South C, Nairobi.

A 16-storey building under construction collapsed. Almost immediately, residents of South C, many of whom became the first responders, pointed to what they believed was the real cause.

They said the collapse was a testament to institutional corruption, designed regulatory failure, as well as blatant disregard for county building laws. To them, this was not an accident. They had predicted it as a disaster waiting to happen.

What followed was the familiar cycle of disaster management in Kenya by national and county government officials: show outrage, visit the rubble, pledge investigations, suspend construction work at the site, pledge support to affected families, then move on.

Documents circulating publicly indicated that the building had allegedly been approved for only 12 floors, yet it collapsed while rising to the 16th floor.

Instead, Nairobi County officials were caught in leaked WhatsApp exchanges seemingly more concerned with escaping blame than explaining how a four-floor violation escaped enforcement.

National government officials, on the other hand, seized the moment to lecture the county government about greed and poor oversight, as though institutional failure exists in isolated silos.

Three days after the collapse, Renson Mulele Ingonga, Director of Public Prosecutions, directed Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja to investigate and submit a comprehensive report within seven days.

Today, more than four months later — over 120 days on — Kenyans are still waiting.

On January 24th, yet another multi-agency team was unveiled with the usual impressive lineup, including the National Police Service, the National Construction Authority, the National Environment Management Authority and Nairobi County planning officials.

A powerful team on paper, yet four months later, there is still no public report or prosecution.

This is precisely the problem. In Kenya, disaster response has become theatre. The script never changes. It seems the template has been developed and gets refined at every disaster.

Meanwhile, grieving families are left to bury loved ones. Survivors live with permanent injuries, while individuals responsible simply move on to the next construction site.

That impunity is dangerous. It emboldens what can only be described as merchants of death, who include developers, rogue officials, compromised inspectors and enforcers who appear confident that accountability in Kenya is optional.

Dear state officers, Kenyans are tired of this cycle of staged urgency followed by institutional amnesia.

Director of Public Prosecutions Renson Ingonga, when you publicly issue a seven-day directive and more than 120 days later nothing has been released, that silence stops being procedural. It becomes an indictment of your office.

Lands CS Alice Wahome and your Public Service counterpart, Geoffrey Ruku, you stood on that rubble with a megaphone and assured Kenyans that no stone would be left unturned.

But while you delayed releasing the report and holding culprits accountable, scrap metal dealers and scavengers literally turned those stones themselves, carting away critical evidence on the quality of materials used in that construction.

Kenyans should not have to beg for reports that public officials themselves promised voluntarily.

Accountability delayed in matters of public safety is not mere inefficiency. It is negligence.

Similarly, when institutions repeatedly fail to act after preventable tragedies, they stop looking incapable and begin looking complicit.