Multi-storey building collapses in Nairobi's Eastleigh, shops open on ground floor while upper storeys under construction, county that approved the plans cannot prosecute those who broke them

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A multi-storey building under construction collapsed on Friday on 9th Street in Nairobi's Eastleigh district, with rescue teams digging through rubble for people feared trapped inside. The National Construction Authority cordoned off the site as county teams worked alongside the National Disaster Operations Centre, the Kenya Red Cross and the Kenya Defence Forces, with heavy machinery brought in and health teams on standby. Casualty figures had not been confirmed; the vice president said several people were trapped and others injured.

The building was registered with the National Construction Authority on July 30, 2025 as a proposed development on land along 9th Street. The authority's records name the developer as 9th Street Plaza Limited and the contractor as Stromax Holdings E.A Limited, with architect Emmanuel Mwangi Maina and structural engineer Joseph Muturi Mugu listed among the professionals on the project. Governor Johnson Sakaja said the building had been approved for construction but held no occupation certificate — and that shops operating on the ground floor while work continued on the upper storeys were doing so without the required approval.

Sakaja called for tougher penalties for developers who ignore approved plans and safety standards. He also said he had written to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions seeking the restoration of prosecutorial powers to county governments, so that counties can act against those responsible for construction violations. As the law stands, the county that approves Nairobi's buildings cannot charge the people who break the rules.

Nairobi has been here before. A residential block that collapsed in the Huruma district in 2016 killed more than fifty people, and the city's construction boom has kept producing successors. Each collapse yields the same artefacts: a named developer, a named contractor, stamped drawings, an approval on file. Friday's building added a variation — the shops below were already trading while the floors above were still going up.

The county that approved the plans cannot prosecute the people who ignored them; Sakaja has asked the Director of Public Prosecutions to hand that power back.