Four people have been injured after a building that once housed Club Avenida collapsed during a nighttime demolition exercise along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s Central Business District, prompting an emergency response and renewed questions about safety at demolition sites.
The incident occurred around midnight on Saturday, October 17, next to MKU Union Towers and opposite Mageso Chambers, where the Magereza DT Sacco headquarters are located.
Preliminary reports indicated that workers were demolishing the structure to pave the way for a new building when supporting metal beams on the less stable side of the structure were cut, triggering the collapse. The precise cause had yet to be officially established.
Rescue Teams Race to Account for Workers
Witnesses said approximately 25 people were inside the building when it collapsed, prompting fears that several workers could have been trapped beneath the rubble.
Police officers and emergency responders arrived shortly after the incident and began rescue operations as reports emerged of people buried under the debris.
By around 1am, witnesses said all 25 people had been accounted for, although rescuers were reportedly still searching for a man believed to be trapped.
An official from the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU) reportedly confirmed that the four injured victims had been taken to hospital.
Three of the victims were said to be in stable condition, while the fourth was in critical condition.
Authorities had yet to establish the full extent of the collapse or confirm whether anyone else remained trapped as rescue operations continued.
Mosiria Calls for Investigation Into Demolition
The collapse sparked concern among members of the public, with some calling on Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and the county government to establish accountability and strengthen oversight of demolition activities.
At the time of publication, neither the governor nor the county government had issued a statement on the incident.
Geoffrey Mosiria, the County Chief Officer for Citizen Engagement and Customer Service, called for a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the collapse.
He urged county engineers to establish whether qualified professionals had supervised the demolition and whether the necessary approvals had been obtained.
“I call upon our county engineers to conduct a thorough investigation into this specific demolition to establish the cause of the collapse, determine whether qualified experts were involved to guide the demolition, and verify whether all the necessary demolition approvals had been obtained,” Mosiria said in a statement.
The county official also urged developers to comply with existing regulations and consult county engineers before undertaking construction or demolition work, emphasising the need to protect workers and members of the public.
Nairobi’s Building Safety Record Under Scrutiny
The incident adds to a series of building collapses and construction-related accidents reported in Nairobi in recent months, raising concerns about structural safety, regulatory oversight and compliance with construction requirements.
In January, the collapse of Mamliz Towers in South C killed two people and led to manslaughter charges against four individuals linked to the Nairobi County Government.
Other building collapses reported in areas including Westlands, Shauri Moyo, Kibera and Gikomba Market have also claimed lives and left people injured.
The latest incident is likely to intensify calls for stricter enforcement of safety requirements, particularly during demolitions, when weakened structures and the removal of supporting elements can pose serious risks.
Investigators are expected to establish what caused the Moi Avenue building to collapse, whether the demolition complied with applicable regulations and whether any safety breaches contributed to the injuries.
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