Ruaka, Ruiru Buildings: Court To Punish Four Govt Officials, Two Owners

Detectives based in Kiambu finalized investigations into the incidents and shall be arraigning a total of six suspects in court.

Marvin Chege Marvin Chege
Nov 22, 2022 - 09:18 Updated: Nov 22, 2022 - 09:19
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Ruaka, Ruiru Buildings: Court To Punish Four Govt Officials, Two Owners
A collage of the collapsed Ruaka and Ruiru buildings. /TWITTER.DCI

The Office of the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has stated that four Kiambu County government officials and two owners of the collapsed Ruiru and Ruaka buildings will find out their fate in a court of law.

Following the collapse of two buildings in Kiambu county, detectives based in Kiambu finalized investigations into the incidents and shall be arraigning a total of six suspects in court.

In the Ruaka case where two people lost their lives, the owner of the building Jenniffer Kamau, who was arrested as she fled the country will answer to the offences of Criminal Negligence and Murder, contrary to section 203 as read with Section 204 of the Penal Code.

Entrance to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport. /FILE

Kamau was arrested at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) while attempting to flee the country for Texas in the United States (US) on Monday, November 21 at 2 am.

"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 at the time.

Four Kiambu County government officials from the planning department shall also face similar charges at the Kiambu Law Courts, on Tuesday morning, November 22.

Meanwhile, Stephen Ngaruiya, the owner of the collapsed Ruiru building shall appear at the Ruiru Law courts for the offence of constructing a building without requisite approvals.

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.

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.”

In the Ruiru incident, the building collapsed a day after its tenants evacuated after they noticed cracks on its walls, with Wamatangi ordering an evacuation of over 100 tenants from the building

The National Construction Authority (NCA) blamed over 80 per cent of incidents on poor workmanship, proposing the introduction of new approval policies in the country to prevent future incidents.

"Professional misconduct, using unqualified labour, greed for wealth by developers, poor structural design, and weak foundations are also to blame," NCA stated.

The government wants landlords to insure their buildings in a move to grant tenants compensation in the event of a tragedy.

Scene after a building collapses in Ruiru, Kiambu County on November 21, 2022. /TWITTER