Riruta tenants allowed back Into condemned building to collect belongings

Nairobi County Disaster Management Chief Officer Bramwell Simiyu said the controlled access was being coordinated by a multi-agency team comprising county and national government officials to ensure tenants’ safety.

The residents vacated the building on Saturday, October 31, after dangerous cracks raised concerns over its structural safety. Some left their household belongings behind as they rushed out.

Among those affected was John Owino, who was upcountry when his family called to inform him of the emergency evacuation.

By Monday, the building’s main entrance had been welded shut, with notices from Nairobi City County and the National Construction Authority (NCA) displayed side by side.

The county notice stated that the building had been occupied without development permission.

The NCA notice, dated November 2, directed tenants to vacate, although residents had already left two days earlier. It cited dangerous cracks on the property, identified as Nairobi Block 66/7880 along Kabiria Road in Dagoretti South.

Simiyu said the decision to condemn the building was precautionary. By Monday evening, authorities had permitted supervised access for tenants to retrieve their possessions.

Investigations are expected to establish what caused the cracks and whether action should have been taken earlier.

Elsewhere, county officials issued an immediate evacuation notice for another residential building in Tassia Estate near Rapture Church.

Meanwhile, search and rescue efforts continued at the site of a collapsed building in Eastleigh, where teams said the operation was 90 per cent complete.

Eleven people were still reported missing as rescuers worked towards the ground floor, where they believed those unaccounted for could be trapped.

Rescue teams urged affected families to remain patient as the operation entered a critical phase.