National Construction Authority Vows Action on Owner of Collapsed Building in Rongo

The National Construction Authority (NCA) has announced the commencement of investigations that led to the collapse of a storey building under construction in Rongo town, Migori County.

In a statement to the press on Wednesday, December 25, the Authority said that it would take stern action against the building owners upon the completion of the ongoing probe.

According to NCA, despite the closure of the site at the time of the collapse, the tragedy led to the injuries of six people including two children and a security guard who were rushed to the hospital.

The Authority further disclosed that search and rescue operations were still ongoing to ensure any other affected persons were recovered and attended to.

NCA revealed that the construction of the storey building had been suspended after a routine quality assurance check by the Authority’s compliance team raised concerns about the structural integrity of the building.

Following the suspension of the construction, the owner of the building was directed to produce a structural integrity report before the construction could proceed. However, the owner was yet to produce the document at the time of the collapse.

“A detailed investigation will be conducted in the coming days to determine the actual cause of failure for this development,” the Authority stated.

“Any person who will be found to have acted in contravention of the law and or/defied any lawful directions issued by a competent Authority will be subjected to the full force of the law.”

Moments after the incident, the area leaders led by Rongo Member of Parliament Paul Abuor arrived at the site as the rescue operations were underway at the site.

Addressing the press after his arrival, the legislator said they were yet to establish the exact number of people who were still trapped in the collapsed building.

The Rongo tragedy comes barely two months after a seven-storey building in Nairobi’s Kahawa West crumbled leading to the injuries of two people.

The incident which took place on October 20, occurred days after the tenants who lived in the structure were ordered to vacate after a preliminary assessment established that the building was not fit.

Confirming the incident, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja detailed that all the masons who had been hired to repair the cracks on the building had been accounted for.