A building under construction opposite Karen Community Church along Ngong Road collapsed on Saturday evening, trapping several people and triggering a massive emergency response.
The Kenya Red Cross confirmed the incident, with rescue teams working tirelessly to free those caught in the rubble.
So far, three individuals have been successfully rescued and evacuated, but an unknown number remain trapped as operations continue.
The incident comes less than two weeks after a separate 16-storey building collapsed in Nairobi’s South C estate, which tragically resulted in the deaths of two security guards.
In that earlier collapse, four people were initially believed to be trapped, with rescue workers digging through the debris for days.
Geoffrey Ruku, the Cabinet secretary in charge of public service, confirmed the number of trapped individuals at the South C site.
The sister of one of the trapped, Safia Ali Aden, made a heartfelt plea for swift rescue efforts, stating her brother had called from under the rubble.
Former Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko also weighed in on the Karen collapse, stating, “Another building has just collapsed in Karen near KCB. Several people are trapped inside. Three dead bodies have already been confirmed,” though these claims of fatalities could not be immediately and independently verified.
These repeated collapses shows a deeply troubling trend in Nairobi’s construction sector.
The Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) has previously sounded alarms regarding the safety of buildings in the city, warning that a significant proportion are unfit for human occupation.
Concerns are primarily linked to lax enforcement of building regulations, rampant corruption, and the widespread use of substandard construction materials.
Inspections conducted by the National Building Inspectorate revealed that a staggering 85% of assessed buildings were either unsafe, required major structural improvements, or posed potential risks to occupants, with only about 15% deemed structurally sound.
As of the time of reporting, neither the Nairobi County government nor the National Disaster Management Unit had provided an official update on the Karen building collapse.
