Four-storey building collapses in Mombasa's Marikiti area

A four-storey building near the Mackinnon Market around Marikiti area of Mombasa County collapsed on Saturday afternoon.

The building which had been declared unsafe for occupation on May 12 by the Mombasa County Lands and Housing Department was due for demolition but caved in before earthmovers moved in.

Luckily, no one was injured during the incident which occurred barely two hours after the Mombasa County government sent a team to evacuate all the tenants from the building.

According to Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Nassir, they received complaints from locals about unsafe buildings in the Marikiti area.

The building inspection team conducted a site visit and noted the building was unsafe for occupation, therefore, a two-week notice was given for all tenants to vacate by May 27.

“They were given a warning on May 12, but the tenants, the majority of whom are business persons, did not want to move out. This morning we sent a team to forcefully evict them,” said Nassir.

According to the Governor, they had received reports that some tenants had not complied with the order to vacate the condemned building.

A team led by Lands Executive Hussein Mohammed arrived at the site and enforced the vacate order. Barely two hours later, the building’s integrity gave in and collapsed with no one inside.

"I applaud the county officials who took swift action in enforcing compliance ultimately saving lives and averting what would have been a disaster. I'm glad no one is hurt," Nassir said.

The county boss also reiterated his message on the importance of having order in the city.

"You did the right thing and you have my backing. In a place where people do not want to follow orders, you need to enforce them. If action had not been taken, we would have come to rescue injured persons or remove dead bodies right now,” he said.

According to the county notice to the house owner, the building had shown signs of collapsing.

"The onset of the rainy season further puts this building at high risk and imminent collapse. While investigations continue, you are hereby requested to inform your tenants to vacate the premise with immediate effects,” reads the notice from the county government.