Four hurt as Moi Avenue building collapses during demolition for redevelopment

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Four workers were injured, one of them critically, when a building that once housed Club Avenida on Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s central business district collapsed during demolition works shortly after midnight on Saturday.

The building, on Nairobi Block 28/285 in Nairobi Central Ward, Starehe sub-county, was being pulled down at night to prepare the property for redevelopment, according to a situation report from the county’s Built Environment department cited by Citizen Digital and The Star.

Nairobi City County Fire and Rescue Services received an alert at about 12:11am, cordoned off the site and later handed command of the operation to the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU).

Emergency teams launched search and rescue operations amid fears that workers could be trapped beneath the rubble, Citizen Digital reported.

Twenty-four workers were reported to have been on site. Three of the four injured were taken to Kenyatta National Hospital. An NDMU official told Citizen Digital that one victim was in critical condition and the other three were stable.

“Comprehensive primary and secondary searches, including the deployment of canine search teams, were completed by 0150 hours,” the county said in a statement posted on Governor Johnson Sakaja’s X account, as reported by People Daily. “A personnel accountability exercise confirmed that all individuals on-site have been accounted for. There are no fatalities.”

Work stopped until engineers clear the site

The county said no further work will be allowed at the plot until engineers have assessed it. “Machinery has been deployed to clear debris and secure the area. A structural safety assessment will be conducted before any further activity is allowed at the site,” the situation report said, according to The Star.

The county did not give a timeline for the assessment, People Daily reported.

The cause of the collapse has not been established. Citizen Digital said preliminary reports indicated that supporting metal beams on the less stable side of the building may have been cut, triggering the fall.

Questions over approvals and supervision

Geoffrey Mosiria, the county’s Chief Officer for Citizen Engagement and Customer Service, asked county engineers to look into how the demolition was carried out and whether it had been cleared.

“I call upon our county engineers to conduct a thorough investigation into this specific demolition to establish the cause of the collapse, determine whether qualified experts were involved to guide the demolition, and verify whether all the necessary demolition approvals had been obtained,” he said.

Mr Mosiria said the late-night timing, when foot traffic on the busy street was low, may have prevented more casualties, The Star reported. He also urged property owners to follow the rules. “I appeal to all developers to strictly comply with county laws during construction and demolition and work closely with county engineers to ensure safety and protect lives,” he said.

The collapse adds to concerns over building safety in the capital. People Daily noted that a structural collapse in South C in January killed two people.

Citizen Digital reported that the collapse had renewed concerns about safety standards during demolition works, with members of the public calling for investigations and accountability. As of 12:30pm on Saturday, no deaths had been reported.

The county said further updates would be issued once the multi-agency team concludes its assessments.