South C Collapse Sparks Demands for Government Accountability as 85% of Buildings Fail Safety Tests
Posted by EDITORIAL
Kenya’s built environment professionals link the South C apartment collapse to developer impunity and weak oversight, warning that only 15% of Nairobi homes meet safety standards and calling for urgent government reforms.
Nairobi Kenya
In Summary
- Built environment professionals say the South C apartment collapse was caused by human failure, not natural factors, pointing to weak oversight and unchecked developer influence.
- Only 15% of Nairobi’s residential buildings meet safety standards, raising urgent public safety concerns.
- Professionals are calling for developer accountability, digital approval systems, and stronger government enforcement to end decades of impunity.
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Kenya’s built environment professionals have issued a sharp warning over the safety of residential buildings in the capital, revealing that only 15 per cent of Nairobi’s housing stock meets required standards for occupation. The revelation follows the collapse of an apartment block in South C, which experts say is part of a long-standing pattern of preventable construction failures.
Addressing the media during a joint press briefing, leaders of architects, engineers, planners, surveyors, and construction project managers said the South C collapse was not a natural occurrence, but the result of human decisions, negligence, and systemic regulatory failure.
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The professionals placed the first line of responsibility squarely on developers, arguing that safety failures often begin at the project conception stage.
“The developer has that first duty of care of getting that consultant. The contractor has the duty of care in terms of quality, processes and approvals,” said The Architects Alliance (TAA) President Sylvia M. Kasanga, underscoring the chain of responsibility in construction projects.
They warned that developers frequently exert undue influence over consultants and contractors, compromising professional independence and public safety.
“He who pays the piper calls the tune,” the joint statement noted, calling for developers to face immediate accountability, including reparations for victims and full audits of their other developments.
The briefing outlined several oversight lapses linked to the South C collapse and similar incidents, including the appointment of underqualified consultants, bypassed approvals, compromised inspections, and political interference at county level. The professionals said such failures have become normalized due to weak enforcement and lack of consequences.
According to the joint bodies, more than 200 buildings have collapsed in Kenya since 1996, with little evidence of systemic learning or reform.
“Failure to make people take responsibility entrenches this culture of impunity, and there is no way to stop it,” they warned, adding that the majority of collapsed buildings could have been prevented through proper regulation and compliance.
The professionals challenged both national and county governments to act decisively, noting that public safety cannot be left to voluntary compliance.
Among their key demands is the employment of qualified Chief Officers for architecture, engineering, and planning in every county, tasked with enforcing development control and professional standards without political interference.
They also called for the establishment of a centralized National Planning System and the full digitization of approvals, inspections, and compliance processes, arguing that online systems would enhance traceability, transparency, and public accountability.
The joint body further urged that members of the public be granted access to building approval records and inspection histories, enabling residents to verify whether the structures they occupy are safe.
The briefing concluded with a stark reminder of the human cost of regulatory failure.
“Lives lost to preventable building failures are a national shame. The solutions are known,” the statement read.
As investigations into the South C apartment collapse continue, the professionals warned that without firm government action and real accountability for developers, similar tragedies will remain inevitable.
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