This archive report was first published on 6 December 2019.
December 6, 2019, marked a tragic day in Nairobi as a six-storey building in Tassia Estate collapsed, trapping an unknown number of people. According to eyewitnesses, the contractor used substandard Y12 steel metals, which cannot hold such a building.
Rescue operations have been hampered by poor roads due to heavy rains in the area. The building, owned by Mama Kanyoni, a notorious builder of substandard residential houses in Nairobi's Eastlands, had shown cracks and people had started moving out.
Robert Alai, a blogger, revealed that the building was owned by Mama Kanyoni and had many substandard buildings around the area. He also stated that there are more condemned buildings in Nairobi slums, which are death traps that must be brought down before another calamity.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time a building has collapsed in Nairobi. In February this year, a building collapsed at Precious Talent Academy in Dagoretti, killing seven pupils and injuring more than 50 others. The structure had been constructed using chicken wire mesh.
