Iron sheet houses safer than storeys Kware residents

Residents of Kware, Embakasi, have said they prefer iron sheet houses for fear that storeyed buildings might collapse on them. Resident Brian Musau on Saturday said it is better to live in iron sheet houses, where one feels safe. “We are tired of being lied to by cartels. They build houses without minding about other people’s lives.” Residents urged the county government and the Housing ministry to ensure all unsafe buildings are brought down.

Resident Christopher Khaemba said developers are still putting up high rise buildings without approval from the relevant authorities. They also said after a building collapses, the owners vanish without compensating the victims.

Early this month, a seven-storey building collapsed in a residential area in Kware, Embakasi. City Hall said the building, which was put up in 2007, was unplanned and was not approved. Two people, a woman and a child, died after the building collapsed.

Last year, a house collapsed in Huruma, killing 51 people. It was among 58 structures that were marked to be brought down.