South C Building Collapse Exposes Regulatory Failures

The South C Residents Association (SouCRA) has expressed deep shock and sorrow following the collapse of a 16-storey building under construction in South C, Nairobi, early Friday morning of January 2, 2025, raising renewed concerns over planning failures, weak enforcement, and public safety.

In a statement dated January 2, 2026, the Association said it was gravely concerned that workers and other persons could be trapped beneath the debris, as it extended solidarity to affected families.

SouCRA urged all relevant agencies to “deploy adequate resources to ensure urgent rescue, recovery, and medical support” at the site.

Describing the incident as both tragic and avoidable, the Association stated that the collapse “was foreseeable and preventable,” citing years of unheeded warnings to the Nairobi City County Government over irregular developments in the area.

Longstanding Warnings Ignored

SouCRA said it has, for several years, formally and repeatedly raised concerns over the “approval of developments contrary to applicable zoning, density, and height guidelines within South C,” alongside a persistent disregard of building lines and planning standards.

The Association also faulted the County for failing to conduct effective site supervision and inspections during construction.

It further criticised what it termed selective enforcement, where “site agents and workers” are arrested while “developers, financiers, and professional consultants, the true principals, remain unaccountable.”

According to SouCRA, weak prosecution outcomes have compounded the problem, with courts often compelled to release arrested agents because “the actual decision-makers are known but not charged.”

The Association stressed that Friday’s collapse “must therefore be understood not as an isolated mishap, but as the culmination of sustained regulatory and enforcement failure.”

Also Read: Latest Update on 16-Storey Building Collapse in Nairobi

Preliminary Structural Observations

While emphasising that its views are subject to forensic investigation, SouCRA shared preliminary observations based on visual assessment and available photographic evidence.

The Association said the manner of failure appeared “consistent with a progressive structural collapse initiating at or near the lower levels of the building.”

It noted that the configuration of debris, including “the near-horizontal stacking of floor slabs,” could indicate a loss of load-bearing capacity in key structural elements such as columns or shear walls.

Such failure, it said, may arise from “inadequate structural design, non-compliant reinforcement detailing, substandard material quality, excessive construction-stage loading, or departures from approved plans.”

Given that the building was still under construction, the Association added that risks such as premature removal of formwork, insufficient concrete curing, inadequate temporary works, and lack of effective supervision could not be ruled out.

“These observations are not findings of fact,” SouCRA cautioned, stating they were intended to underscore the need for “an independent and comprehensive forensic investigation.”

Also Read: Govt Acts After Viral Photos of Nairobi Apartment Pillar Collapse

Legal Framework and Court Ruling

The Association anchored its concerns on the Physical and Land Use Planning Act (PLUPA), 2019, which places statutory obligations on county governments to ensure developments strictly conform to approved plans and to enforce compliance through inspections, stop orders, and demolitions.

SouCRA argued that, “the continued approval of high-rise buildings in apparent disregard of zoning standards in South C represents a failure to discharge these statutory duties.”

It also cited a recent Court of Appeal ruling, which held that the Nairobi City County Government lacks a proper legal framework for development plan approvals.

According to the Association, “the decision validates long-standing concerns that many approvals are legally vulnerable, exposing residents, workers, and investors to avoidable risk and the County to legal liability.”

Demands for Accountability and Reform

In response to the tragedy, SouCRA issued a raft of demands, including declaring the collapse site a controlled investigation zone and publishing, within seven days, the complete approval and compliance record of the development.

The Association called for investigations and prosecutions targeting “developers, directors, financiers, and licensed professionals,” as well as “disciplinary action against county officials implicated in unlawful approvals or negligent supervision.”

It also demanded an immediate moratorium on new high-rise approvals in South C pending a zoning, infrastructure, and safety audit, alongside the introduction of independent third-party construction inspections.

In its conclusion, SouCRA said residents are “not opposed to development” but to “unlawful, unsafe, and unaccountable development that places human life at risk.”

The Association warned that anything short of transparency and reform would confirm “a systemic disregard for public safety and the rule of law.”

“No more warnings. No more ignored letters. No more preventable tragedies,” the statement concluded.

Follow our WhatsApp Channel and WhatsApp Community for instant news updates