Four workers were confirmed dead in yet another construction tragedy in Nairobi.
The victims of a collapsed perimeter wall along Riverside Drive brought the total to ten in less than 24 hours.
On Friday, the upper slab of an eight-storey building that was still under construction caved in, killing six workers near the SGR terminus along Mombasa Road in Nairobi.
In Saturday’s incident, the perimeter wall on Riverside Drive in Kileleshwa Ward was meant to enclose excavated land where a building was to be put up immediately.
According to witnesses, about 40 workers were at the site when the wall collapsed at 8am on Saturday. Eleven were rescued alive and 22 were immediately accounted for.
“It was around 10am and most of the workers were busy on different areas, when we heard the wall coming down then screams from some workers who were passing materials to those working on the upper part,” Tony Wafula, one of the witnesses, said.
The workers said construction started about two months ago and that they were putting up a retaining wall before work began on a residential apartment block of studios, one-bedroom and two-bedroom units.
Other workers said that when they closed for the day on Friday, the wall was still wet because it had not been given enough time for the construction materials to harden.
Among the casualties were carpenters who were erecting support pillars on a wall about seven metres high when it collapsed, catching the workers unawares.
Kileleshwa Member of County Assembly (MCA) Robert Alai, who was at the scene, said it was unfortunate that building collapses had become regular in Nairobi.
He added that in the last year, there have been four cases of perimeter wall collapse in Kileleshwa owing to poor workmanship and excavation.
“There’s a level of supervision which is supposed to be employed by this sub-county planning officer and the ward planning officer. There’s also the core involvement which pains me that the people are supposed to investigate the police officers,” said Alai.
He also claimed that no public participation was conducted before the excavation and the construction of the retaining wall began.
“Some rogue developers ferry strangers from as far as Machakos to pose as residents and conduct fake public participation some as to be allowed to proceed with contractions,” Alai stated, linking such cases to corruption at City Hall.
The latest two incidents come after a building in Eastleigh came tumbling down on October 23, 2026, killing eight people, mostly construction workers. In about a month, 18 lives have been lost, making the situation more alarming.
In January 2026, a building under construction in South C collapsed, claiming the lives of two workers. This means 20 people have lost their lives in such incidents this year alone.
The cases raise questions about Nairobi County’s approval processes and enforcement measures, even as no one takes responsibility while lives continue to be lost.
Experts have also questioned why construction workers are forced to work at night and why timelines for developments in Nairobi are shorter than recommended.
The Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK), led by Grace Kangondu, said its preliminary investigations found that the ongoing works on the retaining wall were poor, adding that it had not established whether there was any supervision.
“We did not get any engineers on the site. We did not get anyone who could say they were responsible for supervising the site, any professional person who was supervising the work,” she stated at Riverside Drive.
She added: “The workers were on their own which is very unprofessional, and therefore they were doing what they could. And when the wall caved in, four of them lost their lives.”
Oliver Okello, the secretary of the National Building Inspectorate at the State Department for Public Works, urged developers, contractors, consultants and other players in the construction industry to exercise due diligence and strictly observe building regulations.
He warned that failure to comply with established requirements could expose the public to serious risks.
He said investigators had collected samples from the Eastleigh site, which were being examined in collaboration with the relevant materials department to establish whether the construction materials met the required standards.
“The Eastleigh incident is not closed. It is presently ongoing and it’s an active investigation,” he said.
On accountability, Okello said the authorities would work closely with the Nairobi City County Government to establish the identities of the developer, consultants and contractors involved in the latest development.
He explained that every construction project must have the necessary approvals submitted by the developer and relevant professionals before work can commence.
Okello emphasised the need to identify the actual persons responsible for the development, including the developer, contractors and professionals involved in the project.
The investigations are expected to establish whether the required approvals were secured, whether construction standards were observed and who should be held accountable if any violations are established.
