By Njeri Irungu.
9th January 2025,
Nairobi, Kenya.
Built environment professional associations have called for an immediate end to impunity in Kenya’s construction sector following the tragic collapse of a building under construction in South C, Nairobi, describing the incident as a preventable national shame.
In a joint statement issued on Wednesday, the associations expressed deep sorrow and solidarity with families who lost loved ones, those injured, and communities affected by the collapse, noting that such disasters should not be occurring in a country with Kenya’s level of professional capacity.
“Each life lost represents a collective failure that must weigh heavily on our conscience,” the professionals said, adding that building collapses in the 21st century are unacceptable.
The associations—representing architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, planners, construction managers, surveyors, valuers and allied practitioners—strongly condemned what they termed systemic lapses across the entire construction chain, from planning and design to approvals, supervision, materials, inspection and enforcement.
They insisted that professionals implicated in failures of design, supervision, certification or ethical conduct must be held fully accountable under the law.
“Where our members have failed, they must be called out and sanctioned. Professional responsibility cannot be optional when lives are at stake,” the statement said.
Counties under scrutiny
The professionals singled out county governments for failing to strengthen development control and building inspection systems, arguing that pl
anning and approvals have been reduced to revenue collection exercises rather than safety safeguards.
They called on all counties to appoint substantive Chief Architects, Engineers, Surveyors, Valuers and Planners, and to ensure that inspections, quality assurance and quality control are carried out rigorously for every approved project.
Developers must be held accountable
The joint statement also placed firm responsibility on developers, warning against a culture where financiers of projects escape liability.
“He who pays the piper calls the tune. The developer should not be left to walk free,” the associations said, insisting that developers must be held ultimately accountable for compliance failures, as provided for under Clause 5 of the National Building Code 2024.
They demanded that developers involved in building collapses be subjected to full audits of all their projects and be compelled to provide reparations to affected families.
Investigations without action condemned
Citing data showing that more than 200 buildings have collapsed in Kenya since 1996, the professionals criticised the failure to implement lessons from past investigations.
“There is no evidence that lessons learnt have been implemented,” the statement said, calling for thorough investigations into the South C collapse, public dissemination of findings, and mandatory incorporation of recommendations into industry practice.
They further demanded that blame be apportioned to all culpable parties, including county governments, regulators, ministries, contractors, consultants and developers, warning that failure to enforce accountability has entrenched a dangerous culture of impunity.
Call for peer review and national planning system
Among the key reforms proposed is mandatory peer review at all stages of building projects—from planning and design to approvals and construction—arguing that independent design checks are a proven safety tool.
The associations also proposed the establishment of a national planning information system to consolidate data on approved building projects across all 48 governments, saying this would standardise development control while preserving county mandates.
They pointed to successful national platforms such as the judiciary’s digital systems, IFMIS and e-Citizen as proof that shared systems enhance transparency and service delivery.
What must happen next
The professionals called for the immediate formation of a multi-stakeholder task force to investigate systemic failures related to structural design, construction methods, materials quality, and regulatory oversight.
They further demanded swift deregistration and prosecution of culpable professionals and developers, decisive regulatory coordination to avoid fragmentation, and joint enforcement actions by all relevant agencies.
“Turf wars and institutional silos cost lives,” the statement warned.
A national shame, known solutions
Concluding the statement, the associations described deaths from preventable building failures as a national shame, emphasising that the causes and solutions are already well known.
“What is required now is courage, coordination and commitment,” they said, pledging to work with national and county governments, regulators and the public to restore safety, integrity and trust in Kenya’s built environment.
The statement was jointly signed by leaders of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya, Architectural Association of Kenya, The Architects Alliance, Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya, Association of Construction Managers of Kenya, Kenya Institute of Planners, Institution of Surveyors of Kenya, Women in Real Estate, Interior Designers’ Association of Kenya, Town and County Planners Association of Kenya, and the Project Management Institute Kenya.
