By Peter Ochieng
Four people have been rescued from the rubbles of a collapsed storey building in area 2, Mathare North, Nairobi County.
The multi-agency rescue team was led by the Kenya Red Cross. The building reportedly become unstable, after being partially demolished.
“Efforts to reach others suspected to be trapped continue. Three out of the four rescued have been taken to a nearby health facility, while one with minor injuries was treated at the scene,” said Red Cross in a statement.
“A building undergoing demolition has collapsed in the Mathare North area. There are fears that multiple individuals may be trapped beneath the rubble. Our rescue team has been dispatched,” the humanitarian agency stated in an initial message.
Last week, two people died after a storey building collapsed in the Kanduyi, Bungoma County. The half-demolished building belonged to former Bungoma governor, Wycliffe Wafula Wangamati.
The demolition was done by the county government of Bungoma, to pave the way for the expansion of Masinde Muliro stadium.
“My heart goes out to the families of the victims of the unfortunate incident that occurred this morning in Kanduyi where the recklessly demolished Wangamati building collapsed killing a number of people. I stand with families of the victims,” said the former governor.
“I condemn the County government of Bungoma for their negligence. After defying a court order stopping the demolition, they did a shoddy job leaving the structure leaning dangerously. The county Government must take full responsibility and compensate the families of those innocent souls.”
However, current governor Kenneth Lusaka said those who died were scavenging for scrap metals, before the unfortunate incidence.
“It is unfortunate that we lost Kenyan citizens who were scavenging for scrap metal despite our earlier warnings. I hereby direct an investigation into why the demolition of the building took so long and under what circumstances the demolition site was not cordoned off,” he stated.
He said his administration would take responsibility for the funeral expenses of the deceased.