South C building collapse case lifts lid on Nairobi's construction approval system

• Members of a multi-agency rescue team, including the military, police and county emergency services, gather at the site of a 16-storey building under construction that collapsed, as search and rescue operations begin with possible casualties still unconfirmed, in the South C neighbourhood of Nairobi, on January 2, 2026. [AFP]

A legal battle exposing how Nairobi County approves buildings has begun after the High Court halted the prosecution of 18 planning officers who claim they were unfairly singled out over the collapse of Manzil Towers in South C.

The prosecution of the officers, led by suspended Urban Planning chief Patrick Analo and Wilfred Wanyonyi Masinde, has evolved into a wider legal battle that is now shining the spotlight on how construction approvals are processed within the county government.

At the heart of the case is a fundamental question: who should bear criminal responsibility when a building collapses?

Should liability rest with the technical officers who process applications, the committee that evaluates development proposals, the County Executive Committee Member who grants final approval, or the private developers who execute the project?

These are among the issues the High Court is now expected to determine after Justice William Musyoka granted the officers leave to challenge the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions' (ODPP) decision to charge them.

"After hearing the parties on the ex parte application, and considering the filings on record, I am persuaded that the ex parte applicants, excluding Mr. Mutinda, should be afforded an opportunity to have their day in court, to present their case against the proposed prosecution, for the reasons advanced," Justice Musyoka ruled.

The judge directed that the leave operate as a stay, effectively suspending the intended prosecution pending the hearing and determination of the judicial review application.

The officers moved to the Milimani High Court through two separate judicial review applications after the ODPP approved charges of manslaughter, abuse of office and neglect of official duty arising from the January 2 collapse of Manzil Towers, which killed and injured several people.

Those named alongside Masinde's case include Philomena Wanjiru, Josephine Nater, Martha Muthoni Maina, Tom Achar, Judy Gitau, Eliud Lemayian, Stephen Mwadime, Philip Mbithi Kiswii, Larry Ochieng, Jassan Njani and Simon Onyango, among others, all members of the Urban Planning Technical Committee (UPTC).

Through their advocates led by Kennedy Murunga Murere, the officers argue that their role in the approval process was purely advisory and that they discharged duties strictly assigned under their appointment and deployment letters.

According to the court filings, development approvals are not the responsibility of a single officer.

"No single officer can be blamed for approving a building because the process involves multiple technical officers, a 44-member committee," Analo states in his affidavit.

Court documents show the committee comprises 44 members, including directors, deputy directors, assistant directors, technical officers and representatives of professional bodies and government agencies.

It is chaired by a representative of the Kenya Alliance of Residents Associations and includes representatives from the Architectural Association of Kenya, the Kenya Institute of Planners and other stakeholders.

The officers argue that the ODPP unfairly isolated a handful of officials while excluding other participants involved in reviewing development applications before final approval is granted.

"It is therefore unfair to have singled out a few individuals to be charged and left out the key players in the approval process," the officers state in their court filings.

In his sworn affidavit, Masinde described the DPP's decision to charge the group as irrational, unreasonable and procedurally unfair, adding that investigators had failed to undertake any individualized assessment of each officer's statutory duties before adopting what he called a blanket and collective attribution of criminal liability to the entire group.

The applicants also point to the developer, Abyan Consulting Limited, which they say never filed the mandatory Notice of Commencement of Development before construction began, leaving the County unaware works had started.

Once officers did inspect the site, in May 2024, they issued an Enforcement Notice halting construction over non-compliance, followed by a second notice in July 2025 after works continued regardless.

That enforcement drive led to the arrest of three construction workers, including Wycliffe Omondi Onyango and Farah Hassan Jakub, on July 29, 2025, charges the ODPP later declined to approve, without explanation, the officers say.

The applicants contend this refusal exposes a deeper inconsistency in how the DPP has apportioned blame.

They argue that criminal liability for the collapse should fall on those who controlled the physical execution of the project, the developer, architect, structural engineer and contractor, and not on planning officials whose role was confined to advisory review of paperwork.

Court documents state that the development application was submitted by Abyan Consulting Limited through architect Gideon Chege Mwangi and the officers insist that implementation, supervision and construction were undertaken by private developers, contractors, architects and engineers and not by applicants as officers of Nairobi City County Government.

The county officers also rely on an indemnity form dated January 4, 2024, in which the developer allegedly undertook  to shield the County Government from any liability arising from the construction, including collapse or loss of life.

The officers also invoke Section 89 of the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, 2019, which they say protects public officers from personal liability for acts done in good faith in the course of their statutory duties, protection they argue the DPP disregarded in bringing the charges.

The officers also note that the ODPP's charge sheet  dated June 5, distinguishes between county officials and private actors.

While the county officers face charges of abuse of office and neglect of duty, developer Daniel Alphonse Odhiambo, architect Gideon Chege Mwangi, and owners Abdishakur Muse Mohamed and Yussuf Mohamed Yussuf face  manslaughter charges, alongside counts of making and uttering false documents and operating without an environmental impact licence.

The officers argue that this differentiated treatment on paper has not translated into differentiated treatment in practice, since committee members with purely advisory functions were still swept into the same prosecution as those directly responsible for the physical construction.

Justice Musyoka directed the applicants to file and serve their substantive motion within seven days.

The respondents and interested parties will have a further seven days to respond before the matter is mentioned for further directions.