KNH officer says the child did not have physical injuries but was emaciated, dehydrated and traumatised. The hospital is waiting to identify her parents.
A seven-month-old baby was yesterday at dawn, rescued from the rubble of the collapsed Huruma building. The baby girl will remain at Kenyatta National Hospital until a man, saying he is her father, proves his claims. She had stayed in the rubbles for four days after the multi-storey building caved in on Friday night.
KNH communications officer Simon Ithae yesterday said the child did not have physical injuries but was emaciated, dehydrated and traumatised.
“She was brought here at 6am and medics and nutritionist are doing their best to rehydrate, feed her and stabilise her body system,” he said. “She is undergoing further medical tests and will remain here as a ‘government’s child’ until we find her parents.”
Ithae said the man claiming to be her father must provide relevant documents to ascertain the child is his. He will also have to undergo a DNA test.
“We can’t release her to anyone who claims to be her parent. That person must prove such claims. For now, she is an African child under the government’s care, until due tests are done and procedures followed to identify her parents,” Ithae said.
The baby was found in the first floor of the collapsed building inside a plastic bucket. She was beside a dead person, who is yet to be identified.
The baby was retrieved by the National Disaster Management Unit rescuers. The team is comprised of Kenya Defence Forces, National Youth Service, Nairobi county personnel and police officers.
The joint team is still digging through the rubble in search of more survivors.
The building trapped dozens of tenants when it collapsed. NDMU deputy director Pius Maasai said 95 have been reported missing. But he did not say whether they could be trapped under the debris or not. The rescue of the child raised the number of survivors to 136 as the death toll hit 23.
Rescuers say they intend to complete combing through the debris in two days.
Reports indicate there was no construction plan and the building had not been approved.
The building is said to have been built in a record five months as a local youth group opposed its construction.
The owner of the building surrendered to police on Sunday. This was after President Uhuru Kenyatta on Saturday ordered his arrest. Samuel Kamau is also said to own several other buildings next to the one that collpased.
The President also asked IG Joseph Boinnet to identify and arrest owners of buildings that do not comply with the National Construction Authority requirements. Uhuru also instructed the Interior ministry and the Nairobi government to survey houses that are at risk of crumbling.
Fourth building to collapse in 15 months
The building was fourth to collapse in 15 months. A building collapsed in Makongeni on December 17, 2014 and killed seven people. In January last year, another building collapsed in Huruma killing two people. The latest Huruma building collapsed on Friday night. Twenty-three people have been confirmed dead and 95 more are still missing.
The court yesterday ordered that five people arrested in connection with the collapsed building be remanded for 21 days at Pangani police station. This was after deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Duncan Ondimu requested for time to allow police conclude investigations. Those in remand are Samuel Kamau and his brother Henry, who owned the collapsed building, National Construction Authority officer Chrispus Ndinyo, Nairobi county government official Justus Kathenge and Mathare subcounty administrator Seline Ogallo.