Nairobi flags missing occupation certificate after Eastleigh building collapse
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Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja says the Eastleigh building that collapsed on Friday had construction approval but no occupation certificate, blaming weak enforcement and penalties too small to deter illegal development.
A building in Eastleigh, Nairobi, collapsed on Friday, 23 October 2026, triggering a multi-agency rescue operation and renewing scrutiny of how construction rules are enforced in Kenya's capital.
Speaking at the scene, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the building had received construction approval but did not hold an occupation certificate, and that traders on the ground floor were operating without temporary occupation authorisation. "Before anybody gets an occupation certificate, you're not allowed to get into that property. At all. Even on a temporary basis. That is not allowed," he said.
Sakaja blamed weak enforcement and lenient penalties for illegal construction, singling out fines of about Ksh5,000 as no deterrent. "When you enforce, you find a fine of Ksh5,000. And that does not deter anyone from continuing with an illegality," he said, adding that the county had written to the Director of Public Prosecutions seeking authority for county city courts to hear such cases.
The governor also questioned supervision of sites, saying developers have been known to dismiss architects, engineers and quantity surveyors after securing approvals and then build without professional oversight. He said the county had asked professional bodies to notify the authorities whenever their members are removed from a construction site, and that a comprehensive statement on the building would follow a review of its documentation.
The rescue operation involved the Kenya Defence Forces, the National Disaster Operations Centre, the Kenya Red Cross and county emergency teams, with excavators, breakers and sniffer dogs deployed. Sakaja said some people had been communicating from inside the rubble, prompting rescuers to open channels to let oxygen reach them. The number of people trapped, injured or killed had not been confirmed, and the cause of the collapse had not been established.