UPDATE 1-Aftermath of the Kericho building collapse

(Adds fresh details and pictures)

As multi-storey buildings in Kenya collapse at an alarming rate, much of the blame continues to be placed on wrongdoing contractors who use shoddy techniques to cut costs and time.

In the latest case in Kericho, the owner of the ill-fated building is a contractor who was reportedly aware of the problems with the three-storey Tebs View Court, which fell on Tuesday, killing a 6-year-old boy.

Four other people escaped with injuries and were treated and the Kericho County Referral Hospital.

According to one of the tenants who “escaped death by the grace of God”, Charles Chaglano, a Kericho-based contractor and proprietor of a vernacular radio station was Sunday informed that his building had developed massive cracks that needed to be examined.

“He came to inspect it on Monday. Later in the day some construction workers were brought in to carry out some reinforcement. This ended up making the cracks to develop further until it collapsed,” she said.

The building was occupied by six families and the all the occupants, except the victim, managed to escape when the building slowly began to sink at around 7.30 pm.

The deceased is said to have sneaked back to collect his valuables shortly after he evacuated the building together with other family members.

“It’s unfortunate that by the time rescuers managed to get to the boy, he had succumbed to the injuries after the walls of the house he was living in collapsed on him,” said Kericho County Police Commander Silas Gichunge, who lead the six-hour search and rescue mission.

The landlord made a brief appearance at the site, while the building’s caretaker, who lived in an adjacent wing, is said to have fled the scene shortly after the incident.

Some of the tenants who spoke to journalists at the site claimed that the building was built on top of a soak pit – allegations that CK could not independently verify.

Cases of building collapse in Kenya have claimed dozens of innocent Kenyans over the past few years even as authorities threaten to take action against any individual caught flouting building guidelines.  

Last month, the National Construction Authority (NCA) warned developers against hiring unregistered builders who it accused of being behind the frequent cases of sub-standard buildings in the country.

“Engaging non-registered persons is not only in contravention of the law, but is (also) dangerous as it will produce poor quality construction work,” NCA Executive Director Maurice Akech said in the notice.

The NCA said on Wednesday that it had taken up the matter in collaboration with the County Government of Kericho and other agencies – with a report on the tragedy expected at a later date.

(John Nduire also contributed to the story)

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