A towering 11-storey building in Mombasa shook, cracked, and eventually crumbled—not from natural disaster, but from human failure. A high-level probe has now laid bare the rotten core of Kenya’s construction industry.
From credential renting by rogue professionals to gross oversight failures by county and national regulators, the investigation paints a chilling picture of systemic negligence.
As Governor Abdulswamad Sherrif Nassir released the findings, the truth hit hard: what happened in Mombasa was not an isolated incident—it’s a symptom of a bigger national crisis in construction.
Mombasa Building Collapse exposes deep rot in Kenya’s construction oversight
The partial collapse and controlled demolition of the Mombasa high-rise on April 9, 2025, was more than just a failure of concrete and steel. It was a failure of systems, people, and ethics.
A multi-agency taskforce formed by Governor Nassir found shocking levels of professional misconduct. Engineers and architects with valid licenses were found renting out their credentials to unqualified individuals who executed the project. These professionals, instead of supervising the construction, handed over their seals and walked away.
The taskforce also discovered that basic safety requirements were ignored. There was no geological survey done. No structural verification was conducted. And critically, there was little to no site supervision. Unqualified people posed as engineers and contractors. Some contractors did not even have technical training.
More troubling was the role of county and National Construction Authority (NCA) officials. Some county officers were found reviewing and approving construction projects involving their own staff. The taskforce flagged this conflict of interest as a key reason why the flawed project sailed through unchecked.
Data between county offices and the NCA did not match. There were no standardized checklists to track safety procedures. Approval documents were signed without cross-verifying designs. In some cases, documents were uploaded to the e-DAMS platform without professional authentication.
Engineers, county staff and developers face fallout
The report released on May 30 directly named licensed engineers and architects involved in the failed project. Governor Nassir warned that consequences were coming. All buildings linked to these individuals are now subject to immediate structural integrity tests.
One county officer was also found culpable for approving shortcuts and helping bypass construction regulations. The developer hired unqualified contractors and failed to follow technical standards. The taskforce found that this pattern repeated across other construction sites in the city.
Nassir emphasized the role of credential renting in allowing these failures to happen. Licensed professionals used their names to win tenders, then handed the work to others for execution—some of whom lacked even basic credentials.
In the end, the structure developed dangerous cracks in its foundation. It was evacuated and later demolished using explosives in a controlled operation led by the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF).
Demolition day lays bare massive failures behind Mombasa building collapse
On the morning of April 9, residents around the Nyali area woke to roadblocks and evacuation orders. The Nyali Bridge was closed at 7:00 am. Police cleared the area. Schools and hospitals shut down temporarily. Then, a single deafening blast ripped through the air.
KDF and National Police Service officers coordinated the demolition after structural experts declared the building unsalvageable. The blast brought the towering structure to the ground in seconds—flattening not just concrete, but the illusion of oversight.
In a city rapidly expanding with high-rise buildings, the collapse was a harsh warning. Residents were forced to reckon with the possibility that many more buildings might be standing on weak foundations—both literally and institutionally.
Recommendations and the way forward
The taskforce issued strong recommendations. First, the enforcement of penalties for credential renting. Professionals must be held liable for misuse of their licenses. Second, full disclosure of conflicts of interest must become mandatory. County and NCA staff should not be allowed to review or approve projects linked to their own teams.
Peer reviews should be enforced for all high-risk and multi-storey projects. A comprehensive structural audit must be done on all existing buildings developed under questionable supervision.
The collapse of this single building should be a wake-up call. Without urgent reform, more disasters are likely. Mombasa’s tragedy must become the moment Kenya decided to clean up its construction industry.
Governor Nassir’s commitment to releasing the report and naming those responsible was a bold first step. Now, the country must watch what happens next—because trust in buildings means trust in the people who approve and build them.
