DPP blames police over delays in South C building collapse probe

The Director of Public Prosecutions, Renson Ingonga, is blaming police for failing to submit investigation files on the South C building collapse nearly three months after the incident that claimed two lives.

Ingonga, in a letter titled “2nd Reminder” addressed to Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, indicates that despite writing twice, directing police to investigate, record statements from all persons and submit findings, no file has been forwarded to his office.

In the letter dated March 27, 2026 and stamped “very urgent”, obtained by Citizen TV, Ingonga directed police to submit investigation files related to the South C building collapse that occurred on January 2.

In the correspondence, the DPP reminded the Inspector General of two earlier letters from his office.

One, dated January 5, directed police to probe the incident and record statements from all relevant persons, including the developer, contractor and those responsible for building approvals, inspections and enforcement, among them members of the Nairobi City County technical committee in charge of building approvals and the county compliance team. 

Police were directed to forward the files for perusal and action within seven days.

Another letter, dated February 9, informed the Inspector General that no file had been received and directed that the files be forwarded within three days.

More than a month later, Ingonga says he has yet to receive the documents and has again directed police to submit them within three days, as families of the two victims seek justice.

A month ago, Ingonga had also blamed the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) for delays in submitting investigation files involving police officers accused of wrongdoing.

These include the ACK Witima Church attack in Othaya, the murder of Kevin Maseri in a Kitengela bar shooting and attacks at political rallies organised by opposition leaders.

Speaking earlier, Ingonga underscored the importance of timely investigations, noting that prosecution cannot proceed without completed files from investigative agencies.

“Unless the investigations are done, the DPP can't do much, that's why you will hear an incident has happened and somebody says the DPP instead of saying the investigating agencies, which are different depending on the type of activities ...” he said.

A day after the DPP’s remarks, detectives probing the Kitengela shooting said they had recommended the prosecution of six suspects, including three police officers and three civilians.