BY: SAMUEL NJAGI CHARAGU, HSC, P.E .FIEK

The 20th Engineers International conference at Tom Mboya labour college, Kisumu

The collapse of buildings under construction has exposed the ills that bedevil the building sector.The frequent collapse of structures in Kenya leading to injuries and deaths in the past is a matter of great concern. These construction site accidents which are avoidable have claimed lives of innocent Kenyans robbing families of their breadwinners and loved ones; causing irreparable damage to the injured workers and people who eke out a living trading around the construction site.

Kenya has experienced frequent collapse of buildings. The most vivid are the collapse of a building in Nairobi Ronald Ngala in 2006, collapse of a building in Kiambu town in 2009, another building in Kiambu in 2010 and at pipeline, Embakasi in June 2011.Over the last six years, a number of buildings some under construction and others completed have collapsed in Nairobi and other major towns in Kenya as indicated by table below.

DescriptionDateCasualtiesReported causes of failureRonald Ngala Junction bldg23/9/200614 deadSeveral injuredCauses of failure were poor design and supervision, poor materials and workmanship. Kisii Collapsed Building at Kisii district6/06/091 dead11 hospitalizedConcrete not meeting minimum strength for structural elements (Core strength= 14.7N/mm2