South C building collapse: Re-inspection of ongoing constructions begins

The Nairobi City County government has deployed a multi-agency team to conduct a fresh wave of inspections across active construction sites in the capital. This regulatory push comes in the wake of a January 2026 incident where a 14-storey building under construction in South C collapsed, resulting in at least two confirmed fatalities and multiple injuries.

Preliminary investigations into the South C tragedy revealed significant discrepancies between approved plans and the physical structure. While the project on Plot No. 68/1306 was initially cleared for 12 floors, the building had reached the 14th or 16th floor by the time it failed. National Construction Authority records identified the developer and contractor as Abyan Consulting Limited, noting that the project was non-compliant at the time of the incident.

The current inspection exercise involves officials from the National Construction Authority, the National Disaster Management Unit, and the Nairobi City County Urban Planning department. The team is tasked with verifying the structural integrity of ongoing developments and ensuring that contractors are adhering to the specific limits set out in their approved building permits.

Evidence from the South C site indicated that the building had been flagged for violations on three separate occasions in 2025. Enforcement notices were issued in May, July, and December of that year, but construction work continued despite these directives. This systemic failure to halt non-compliant projects has placed renewed pressure on City Hall to tighten oversight.

Resident associations in the area have described the South C collapse as a foreseeable outcome of regulatory negligence. They have called for greater transparency in the digital permit tracking system and requested that the county publish the full approval records for high-rise developments in residential zones.

The multi-agency team will prioritize sites that have previously received enforcement notices or those where significant deviations from original architectural designs are suspected. Officials have stated that any project found to be operating without valid professional consultants or exceeding its floor limit will be shut down immediately, pending a full technical audit.

Beyond the immediate structural failures, the probe into the South C site suggested that some developers use qualified professionals to secure initial permits before replacing them with cheaper, unregistered alternatives during the actual construction phase. This practice is a primary focus for the inspectors currently traversing Nairobi’s construction hotspots.

The Nairobi County Physical Planning department is also under scrutiny following allegations that unauthorized floor additions were facilitated by internal administrative lapses. President Ruto has previously emphasized that professionals found culpable in cases of structural negligence will face personal liability and potential prosecution.

As the inspections continue, the government aims to restore public confidence in the safety of the city’s skyline. The findings from this multi-agency sweep are expected to form the basis of a broader report on construction safety and the efficacy of current enforcement mechanisms in Nairobi.