“One by one, city’s death traps come tumbling down”

 Demolition of unsafe buildings in Nairobi commenced yesterday. This was after the lapse of a seven-day grace period issued earlier by Governor Evans Kidero. The demolition started with a four-storey building that was reduced to debris in Mathare North. The National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU), National Youth Service (NYS), National Building Inspectorate (NBI), National Construction Authority (NCA) and the county government are spearheading the demolitions…

 “This exercise is meant to save lives. Take note that this is an ongoing demolition until we get rid of all unsafe buildings,” said Nairobi County Lands Executive Christopher Khaemba…Some of the aspects inspectors look out for Moturi said, are the height of building (where there are more than five floors there should be a fitted elevator), strength and size of stairs and corridors. In Huruma, some were as tiny as 450mm. Others are social amenities. He noted that it was unhygienic to have up to nine families sharing one washroom.