Built Environment Professionals Demand End to Impunity after Collapse of Building

By The COAST Team

Building industry associations have issued a strong warning on systemic failures and impunity in Kenya’s construction sector following the tragic collapse of a building under construction in Nairobi’s South C estate.

The collapsed building that claimed lives and left others injured has once again brought to the fore longstanding concerns over poor governance, weak enforcement, and professional misconduct in the construction industry.

The professionals described the incident as “preventable” and a national shame in a country with adequate technical expertise and regulatory frameworks.

“We express our profound sorrow and solidarity with the families who have lost loved ones and those injured,” the associations said noting that every life lost represents a collective failure that must not be ignored.

In a rare show of self-accountability, the associations representing architects, engineers, planners, quantity surveyors, project managers, surveyors, valuers, and allied practitioners acknowledged that professional lapses often contribute to such disasters.

They warned that failures in design, supervision, certification, and ethical conduct must attract firm sanctions.

“Where our members have failed, they must be held to account,” the statement read.

The professionals emphasized that building collapses result from interconnected failures across the entire development chain, including planning approvals, construction methods, inspection regimes, material quality, and political interference.

The statement placed significant responsibility on county governments, calling for strengthened development and building control systems.

Counties were urged to move beyond treating approvals as revenue streams and instead prioritize safety and quality assurance.

The associations proposed that every county should have designated chief architects, engineers, planners, surveyors, and valuers to oversee inspections, quality control, and enforcement throughout the construction lifecycle.

The professionals strongly criticized what they described as a culture of developer impunity, insisting that developers bear ultimate responsibility for compliance with the National Building Code 2024.

“He who pays the piper calls the tune,” the statement noted, adding that developers involved in building collapses must not escape accountability.

They called for developers to provide reparations to affected families and for comprehensive audits of all their ongoing and completed projects.

Citing records showing that more than 200 buildings have collapsed in Kenya since 1996, the associations lamented the lack of evidence that lessons from past investigations have been implemented.

They demanded thorough investigations into the South C collapse, public dissemination of findings, and mandatory integration of lessons learned into industry practices to finally halt the recurring tragedies.

The joint statement highlighted persistent problems fueling building failures, including corruption, political interference, use of unqualified practitioners, credential renting, lack of geotechnical investigations, poor construction sequencing, substandard materials, and inadequate quality control.

The professionals warned that unless these issues are comprehensively addressed, building collapses will continue to claim lives.

To enhance safety, the associations called for mandatory peer review at all stages of development — from planning and design to construction and approvals — with clear separation between designers and implementers.

They also proposed the establishment of a national planning information system to standardize development control across counties while preserving devolution.

Such a platform, they argued, would improve transparency, peer learning, and accountability, similar to systems already in use within government.

Among the immediate actions proposed were the formation of a multi-stakeholder task force to investigate structural design, construction methods, material quality, and regulatory failures; swift deregistration and prosecution of culpable professionals and developers; and stronger coordination among regulatory agencies to avoid deadly institutional silos.

The associations concluded by reaffirming their commitment to working with national and county governments, regulators, and the public to restore integrity, safety, and trust in Kenya’s built environment.

“The causes are known. The solutions are known. What is required now is courage, coordination, and commitment,” the statement said.

The joint statement was signed by leaders of Kenya’s major built environment professional bodies, including the Institution of Engineers of Kenya, the Architectural Association of Kenya, the Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya, and several others.