Owner Of Collapsed Ruaka Building Falls Sick After Arrest
He was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) while trying to escape the country.
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UPDATE: The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has revealed that Jennifer Kamau, the owner of a 6-storey building in Ruaka that collapsed on Thursday, November 17, fell ill after she was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA).
Kamau was attempting to flee the country for Texas in the United States (US) on Monday, November 21 at 2 am when detectives pounced on her at the airport.
"Hawk-eyed sleuths based at the region’s main international gateway, pounced on Jennifer Kamau, 59, minutes before she boarded a flight destined for Texas, in the United States of America.
"However, following the arrest, the woman was taken ill and rushed to a city hospital by our officers, where she is receiving treatment before being arraigned in court," part of the statement by DCI read.
The owner of a 6-storey building under construction in Ruaka that collapsed on Thursday morning, November 17 has been arrested.
Kiambu County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha said that the suspect had been hiding for four days before he tried to run away.
He was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) while trying to escape the country.
While addressing the media at the scene of another building that collapsed in Ruiru, Kiambu County on Monday morning, November 21, the commissioner promised that the owner, engineers and county officials may be charged due to the deaths and damage to the properties.
“There is loss of life and damage of property, people died in Kirigiti and Ruaka so there are so many things that we are looking at,” the commissioner stated.
The commissioner sharply warned unscrupulous agents and contractors while announcing that a multi-agency team would be formed to inspect the state of buildings to prevent further tragic incidents from happening.
The Ruaka incident saw a couple confirmed dead, however, their three children survived as they lived in another house in the compound. The building had flattened the iron sheet house the couple were spending their night in, which was next to the collapsed building.
“I live in the next building and when I heard the bang, I rushed outside. With the help of others who had come, we pulled out the rubbles but unfortunately, my brother and his wife had died,” Antony Karomo, a brother to the deceased, told the media.
Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi while visiting the scene at Old Ruaka Road alongside rescue teams from the county, promised that action would be taken to prevent future incidences of that nature from occurring.
“We have agreed to sit down and find immediate ways of addressing this menace. We cannot continue to lose innocent lives like this. People must face the law if they commit offences," he attributed preliminary investigations showing that the contractor of the building breached some procedures.
"If contractors do not want losses, they must adhere to the rules. We will demolish all buildings that have not been properly built. We will not wait for buildings to collapse. We will pull them down.”
The incident painted a damning picture of the conduct of rogue contractors who allow construction works to be carried out even after their buildings have been flagged by the National Construction Authority (NCA) as unsafe.
It came barely two days after a seven-storey building collapsed in Kasarani. Three people, including a vendor, were confirmed dead in the building collapse, with six rescued from the rubble.
Speaking during a visit to the site, Nairobi Governor, Johnson Sakaja announced that he reshuffled the technical committee tasked with the approval of buildings after he found loopholes leading to a series of buildings collapsing in the city.
