Nairobi county has condemned a 10-storey residential building along Kabiria Road in Riruta Satellite, forcing approximately 90 families out of their homes after structural inspections uncovered severe defects within the block.
The county government’s disaster management team declared the structure unsafe on October 31, 2025, after engineers identified deep cracks running through the masonry and visible gaps opening between sections of the building.
The property, identified in county records as Nairobi Block 66-78-80, was officially marked red under the Physical and Land Use Planning Act of 2019 and the Building Code 2024, which authorise authorities to condemn structures deemed dangerous or ruinous.
Evacuation leaves tenants stranded
The evacuation unfolded in panic, with tenants given little time to gather their possessions. One resident described being woken and ordered out under police supervision with almost no warning. “Some of us were still sleeping.
Information just came that we should vacate the building, and we left the apartment without all our belongings.
It was under police supervision. We were told to take a few essentials and with the tense atmosphere, I only took shirts, no trousers.
So I don’t know how long it’s going to take because everything is here, even my wife’s clothes,” he said.
Balconies on upper floors still bear laundry and carpets left behind in the rush, with the building now cordoned off and silent.
Frustration among displaced families is rising over the difficulty of accessing their remaining property.
“The management and county government are taking so long. We have to work. Some of us have found new houses, but we cannot access our property. That is our worry,” said one affected tenant.
Warning signs reportedly ignored
Some residents said they had raised concerns with building management well before county officials intervened but received no response.
“Tenants approached the management, but they were not responding. That’s when we decided to contact the county offices, because we were worried. Even me when I was at work, I was not settled,” one tenant told reporters.
The enforcement notice ordered the immediate evacuation and full demolition of the structure, warning that non-compliance would result in forced county action carried out at the owner’s expense.
The county also confirmed the building had been constructed without the required planning permissions.
The Riruta condemnation comes just days after a separate building under construction collapsed in Eastleigh, Nairobi, trapping residents and causing injuries, with a search operation still ongoing at that site.
