- Traumatised tenants of Crestwood Apartments were asked to vacate as the stability of the seven-storey building had been threatened.
- Kikuyu police boss Catherine Ndengera said the scene will remain secured by police officers until the investigation is completed.
Image: EZEKIEL AMING'A
A loud bhang from an adjacent building woke up Joshua Karani and his family in the dead of the night on Saturday.
"For a moment, I thought our building had been bombed," he said.
His family of five, a nanny, two children and the wife had to quickly leave the house.
They spent the rest of the night in the cold after the 1 am incident.
A four-storey building under construction next to their Crestwood Apartments in Regen, Kinoo, Kiambu county had collapsed, leaning on their house.
Traumatised tenants of Crestwood Apartments were asked to vacate as the stability of the seven-storey building had been threatened.
The Crestwood building developed several cracks, a clear indication it was no longer safe for habitation.
No one was injured.
A nanny who did not want to be named said she struggled with door to get out.
"Our building trembled, it was like an earthquake. I can't tell how long I had slept but it was 1 am in the night. I just jumped out of bed and escaped hurriedly from the building," she said.
She said she was yet to set foot back in the building.
"I fear that another shudder will knock down. I am supposed to be in church right now but I have not change of clothes since yesterday,” she said.
Kiambu Lands Executive Eunice Macharia told the Star that the building's foundation had failed.
She urged tenants from the adjacent building to immediately seek alternative accommodation.
Macharia said the approval for the building was for a four storey-structure but it had already reached the fifth floor when it collapsed.
Macharia urged developers to be more careful while designing and constructing buildings .
She urged them to seek approval from the county.
She issued a demolition notice of the building and gave the owner 24 hours to bring it down.
Engineer Okere Makokha, Director in charge of compliance and enforcement, Engineers Board of Kenya said that they are investigating to find out whether the project was designed and supervised by a registered engineer .
"The board has sent a team of experienced structural engineers to carry out an assessment of the building to find out the real cause of the collapse,"he said
Okere said the EBK will work with other regulatory bodies such as the National Construction Authority, Board of registration of architects and quantity surveyors to demolish the building tomorrow without affecting the adjacent building.
He said that the board will also carry out a structural integrity assessment to determine whether the adjacent building is fit and safe.
Kikuyu police boss Catherine Ndengera said that the scene will remain secured by police officers until the investigation is completed.
“We have joined hands with the county government to maintain peace and protect the lives of the people within the area,” she said.
(Edited by Tabnacha O)