One woman rescued from collapsed Eastleigh building in Nairobi; police seek owner

Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud said the owner of the multi-storey building that collapsed in Eastleigh at about 1pm on 23 October had not presented himself to police, Kenyans.co.ke reported. Authorities would pursue anyone responsible, including those who authorised the construction, and anyone found criminally negligent would face the law, he said.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said the building had a county approval certificate but no occupation certificate. He said it did not comply with construction guidelines, that legal action would be taken against the owner, and that it appeared there had been no professional on site. Africanews quoted him as saying: "This building has no occupation certificate...this has potentially cost lives."

Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja confirmed that one person had been pulled from the rubble and taken to hospital, The Star reported. Xinhua quoted authorities as saying the rescued woman was in stable condition. The Star put the building at 18 storeys, on 1st Avenue, 9th Street. Nairobi City County said it was still under construction, although its ground floor was already occupied.

Sakaja said rescuers were clearing debris to let oxygen reach people feared trapped. Capital FM said a second person had been heard calling for help from the rubble and that the cries had since gone silent. Mohamud said rescue operations were ongoing.

Responders include the Kenya Defence Forces, the General Service Unit, police, the Anti-Terrorism Police Unit, the Bomb Disposal Unit, the National Youth Service and the Kenya Red Cross. Heavy machinery was brought in to clear debris, but by 6pm rescuers had temporarily suspended debris removal after people trapped under the rubble reportedly said the work was affecting their oxygen supply.

Worker Alexander Mugure said a corner of the building had cracked and some workers left before it fell. He estimated that about 70 workers were on site and feared some were in the basement. A casual labourer estimated that more than 70 people, including workers and food sellers, may have been in the basement; Kenyans.co.ke said the estimate had not been verified.

Joseph, a plasterer, said that he and colleagues went downstairs after hearing shouting, thinking there was a fight, and saw the building collapsing. An eyewitness said it fell within about two minutes.

Police fired tear gas to disperse crowds that had blocked roads and kept emergency vehicles from reaching the site. The number of people trapped, the casualty toll and the cause of the collapse had not been established.

John Ogallo, vice-president of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya, said people at the scene reported that signs of distress, such as cracks, had been seen before the collapse, as quoted by AFP. Kenya's National Building Inspectorate found that 87 per cent of the buildings it audited nationwide in 2025 failed to meet standards or lacked required approvals, AFP said.

Nairobi recorded 86 building collapses between 2009 and 2019, killing an estimated 200 people, according to a report by the Kenya Institute for Public Policy Research and Analysis (KIPPRA) cited by AFP and Africanews.