Building Experts Blame "Culture of Impunity" for South C Collapse, Demand Urgent Overhaul

By John Toris

In a powerful and unified condemnation, Kenya’s leading built environment professional bodies have declared the recent South C building collapse a "preventable tragedy" and a "collective failure," demanding an immediate end to the impunity that has plagued the construction industry. Issuing a joint statement today in Nairobi, the eleven associations expressed profound sorrow for the lives lost and called for decisive action to stop a cycle of disasters that has seen over 200 buildings collapse since 1996.

PHOTO: President of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) Eng. Shammah Kiteme reading the joint statement

The group, representing architects, engineers, quantity surveyors, planners, and construction managers, began by extending solidarity to the affected families. They stated that in a country as professionally endowed as Kenya, such disasters "should be a thing of the past." The statement was sharply critical of the systemic failures across the entire development chain, from design and approvals to materials, construction, and inspection. "Where our members have failed in design, supervision, certification, or ethical conduct, they must be held to account," the associations asserted, while also pointing fingers at other culpable parties.

A central demand was fixing the problem at the county level. The professionals insisted that county planning departments must move beyond seeing development control as mere revenue generation. They called for every county to employ Chief Architects, Engineers, and Planners to ensure proper inspections and quality control. Furthermore, they highlighted the "impunity" of developers, stating, "He who pays the piper calls the tune," and insisted developers be held ultimately accountable for failing to comply with the National Building Code.

The statement lamented that despite numerous past investigations into collapses, there is no evidence that lessons have been learned. "Failure to make people take responsibility makes this culture of impunity entrenched," they warned. To break this cycle, they called for comprehensive action on underlying issues like political interference, corruption, the use of quacks, and poor materials. They also advocated for mandatory peer reviews at all project stages and the establishment of a National Planning System to standardize information and enhance oversight across all 48 governments.

As a critical next step, the associations demanded the formation of a multi-stakeholder task force to investigate the South C collapse, focusing on design, construction methods, materials, and enforcement breakdowns. They called for developer accountability, including reparations for affected families and audits of their other projects. The professionals also urged swift regulatory action, including the deregistration and prosecution of all culpable parties, from engineers to developers. "Turf wars and institutional silos cost lives," they emphasized, calling for coordinated action among agencies.

The joint statement concluded with a commitment from the associations to work with national and county governments to restore integrity and safety. "The causes are known. The solutions are known," they stated. "What is required now is courage, coordination, and commitment." This unprecedented unified front from the industry’s regulators places significant pressure on authorities to implement long-overdue reforms and finally end the era of deadly building collapses.

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