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| Kenya Red Cross team continues search and rescue operations along Muhoho Road in Nairobi’s South C area on January 2, 2026. Photo/Kenya Red Cross. |
Two people are feared trapped after a 16-storey building under construction collapsed along Muhoho Road in South C, Nairobi, triggering a large-scale rescue operation involving multiple agencies.
The Kenya Red Cross said the incident occurred early in the morning, trapping two workers at the construction site. Emergency teams drawn from the Kenya Defence Forces, the National Police Service, Nairobi City County emergency services, the National Disaster Management Unit, and Kenya Power were deployed to the scene.
In a statement shared on X, the Kenya Red Cross said the area had been sealed off to allow coordinated search and rescue operations to continue. “The area has been cordoned off as the National Disaster Management Unit, Nairobi City County, the National Police Service and the Kenya Red Cross continue search and rescue operations,” the statement read.
Eyewitnesses at the scene expressed frustration over what they described as a delayed response, arguing that faster intervention could have improved the chances of rescuing those trapped alive. One witness said workers were still inside the building after it collapsed at around 4:00 am, but rescue teams with appropriate equipment arrived much later.
“Those who were working here are still inside. We don’t know if they are alive or have passed away. Since around 4:00 am, when the building collapsed, no responders arrived with the proper equipment to remove the debris and save their lives,” the witness said. Another resident added that by the time help arrived, it was feared the situation may have already worsened, calling on disaster response teams to be better equipped to handle such emergencies.
Lang’ata Member of Parliament Felix Odiwuor, popularly known as Jalang’o, strongly condemned the incident, accusing some developers of colluding with corrupt construction officials to bypass safety regulations. He claimed that political connections were often used to shield questionable developments from scrutiny.
“I’ve written more than 43 letters to the county government requesting information about some buildings that have been suspicious or do not have approval, but there has been no response,” Odiwuor said. He added that when concerns are raised, developers allegedly claim to be well connected within government circles. According to the MP, the collapsed building was among those previously flagged by the South C Residents’ Association.
Odiwuor also raised alarm over the speed at which some private high-rise developments are being constructed, noting that some are completed in just over a year. He contrasted this with government housing projects, which typically take up to two years, describing the situation as worrying and reflective of deeper systemic problems within the construction oversight framework.
In response to the collapse, the MP called for an immediate halt to all ongoing construction projects in South C. He said a comprehensive review should be conducted by a multi-agency team to ensure compliance with safety standards before work is allowed to resume.
“We’re requesting every single construction going on in South C to stop so that a new evaluation can be done through the National Construction Authority with approval from the county. We need a multi-agency approval before anything goes on,” he said.
Search and rescue operations were ongoing as authorities worked to determine the cause of the collapse and the fate of those feared trapped under the debris.
