MOMBASA County-Jan 3, 2025- As rescue teams continue to comb through debris in Nairobi’s South C following the collapse of a 16-storey building early Friday morning, questions about building safety and enforcement have resurfaced across the country.
The Nairobi structure, which came down when it was reportedly on its 14th to 16th floor, had been flagged multiple times by county authorities after the developer exceeded approved plans. Despite warnings, arrests, and stop orders, construction continued, leaving at least four people buried under rubble as emergency operations stretch into a second day.
According to Nairobi City County records, the building had been marked for intervention in May, July, and December of 2025, yet contractors continued construction unabated.
The National Construction Authority (NCA) confirmed that the project was non-compliant and that Abyan Consulting Limited’s licence had expired in July 2024. Three individuals associated with the project were arrested in July 2025 but were released on bail, highlighting enforcement gaps that have long plagued urban development across Kenya.
This is not an isolated incident. Over the past decade, Kenya has witnessed multiple preventable collapses, including a four-storey building in Huruma Estate in 2016 that killed more than 37 people, a structure in Kiambu County that caved in on September 26, 2022, and another along Juja Road Estate in Eastleigh two years ago, leaving four fatalities. The pattern is clear: lax enforcement, non-compliance, and shortcuts in construction have turned urban growth into a deadly gamble.
Mombasa, though spared a tragedy of the same scale recently, has faced its own alarming incidents.
In 2025, an 11-storey building near the largest referral hospital Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital (CGTRH) within Mombasa Island was evacuated and later demolished in a controlled operation after inspectors detected severe structural weaknesses linked to compromised foundations.
Across Kongowea, Kisauni, Likoni, and Changamwe, residents have reported rapid construction, unauthorised floor additions, and inconsistent inspections, sparking fears that a disaster could strike along Kenya’s coast as it has in Nairobi. Local engineers and building safety consultants warn that the root cause of such failures is systemic.
“Developers push limits to save costs or maximize profits. Without rigorous inspections and adherence to approved designs, the consequences are deadly. Mombasa is growing fast, and the risks here are similar to those in Nairobi,” said Peter Mwenda, a building safety consultant.
The warning resonates with residents like Aisha Omar, a tenant in Changamwe. “We see buildings going up very quickly. Sometimes extra floors are added, and nobody checks. We pray every day that what happened in Nairobi doesn’t happen here,” she said.
Experts point out that the South C collapse underscores the limitations of enforcement alone. Stop orders, arrests, and expired licences do little if monitoring is weak and accountability is absent. Civil society groups have called for a culture of continuous compliance, recommending regular independent inspections, strict licensing checks, and community involvement in monitoring building safety.
“A building is only as safe as the system that enforces the rules around it,” Mwenda added.
The human cost of construction failures goes beyond the immediate loss of life. Families are displaced, businesses disrupted, and communities left anxious as rescue operations unfold.
In South C, residents have stayed nearby since the collapse, watching emergency teams navigate unstable debris in the hope that survivors may yet be found. Roads remain partially blocked, and normal routines are disrupted, demonstrating that even near-misses carry significant social and economic consequences.
In Mombasa, past demolitions and structural failures have prompted county authorities to tighten approvals and carry out occasional inspections. Yet residents report that gaps remain.
“You don’t know if the building you live in is safe. We see construction taking shortcuts, and there is no regular check,” said Josephine Bahati, a mother of a student in Kongowea. The fear is shared across Nyali and Likoni, where new apartments rise rapidly but enforcement and inspection are often inconsistent.
The broader lesson from South C and Mombasa is that urban growth must not outpace safety. As cities expand to meet housing demand, regulators, developers, and communities must prioritize structural integrity. Engineers emphasize that early detection of cracks, uneven settling, and unauthorized modifications can prevent disasters.
Meanwhile, Authorities must enforce building codes rigorously and transparently, ensuring that violators are held accountable and that compliance becomes a continuous process rather than a one-time approval.
For residents, vigilance is critical. Monitoring local construction, reporting unsafe practices, and demanding accountability from both county and national authorities can save lives. South C’s collapse serves as a grim reminder that building safety is not just a technical concern—it is a public safety obligation that affects everyone living near rising structures. Mombasa, with its booming construction sector and growing population, cannot afford to wait until a tragedy strikes before taking preventive action.
Unchecked construction, weak oversight, and impunity from developers are issues that bridge Nairobi and Mombasa, revealing a structural problem that requires urgent attention. Until regulations are enforced consistently and residents are empowered to participate in safety monitoring, urban development will continue to carry hidden risks, threatening lives, livelihoods, and the confidence of communities striving for safer cities unauthorised floor additions, and inconsistent inspections, sparking fears that a disaster could strike along Kenya’s coast as it has in Nairobi.
Local engineers and building safety consultants warn that the root cause of such failures is systemic.
“Developers push limits to save costs or maximise profits. Without rigorous inspections and adherence to approved designs, the consequences are deadly. Mombasa is growing fast, and the risks here are similar to those in Nairobi,” said Peter Mwenda, a building safety consultant.
The warning resonates with residents like Aisha Omar, a tenant in Changamwe. “We see buildings going up very quickly. Sometimes extra floors are added, and nobody checks. We pray every day that what happened in Nairobi doesn’t happen here,” she said.
Experts point out that the South C collapse underscores the limitations of enforcement alone. Stop orders, arrests, and expired licences do little if monitoring is weak and accountability is absent.
Civil society groups have called for a culture of continuous compliance, recommending regular independent inspections, strict licensing checks, and community involvement in monitoring building safety.
