Six construction workers lost their lives, and five others sustained serious injuries following the partial collapse of a multi-storey building under construction along the Standard Gauge Railway (SGR) access road in Syokimau.
The tragedy occurred on Friday morning, November 13, 2026, when a section of the upper floor gave way during intensive concreting works.
According to the National Disaster Management Unit (NDMU) and emergency response teams, the catastrophe struck at around 7:00 am as workers began their early morning shifts. Preliminary assessments indicate that a suspected failure of the formwork supporting the upper slab caused part of the structure to cave in, plunging workers into a heap of twisted metal and heavy debris.
Emergency responders, including the Kenya Red Cross, Urban Search and Rescue (USAR) teams, and police, rushed to the scene to comb through the rubble. Five injured survivors were pulled from the wreckage and rushed to hospital for emergency treatment, while the bodies of the six deceased workers were moved to the Nairobi City Funeral Home.
NDMU Director Duncan Ochieng confirmed that while over 400 workers were registered at the expansive site, all individuals had been accounted for following exhaustive search operations. The site has since been cordoned off and secured pending structural audits.
Growing safety concerns
The devastating collapse comes barely three weeks after another fatal structural disaster in Eastleigh, Nairobi, where an 18-storey building under construction collapsed, claiming eight lives. Statistics from building safety watchdogs indicate that Kenya has faced an alarming spike in construction-related incidents, fueling intense scrutiny over regulatory oversight, adherence to building codes, and accountability among developers and county authorities.
Political leaders have sharply criticised local authorities over lax enforcement. Embakasi East MP Babu Owino fiercely condemned the incident, demanding strict legal action against those culpable for compromising worker safety.
“We cannot continue living in a country where human lives are sacrificed at the altar of greed and corruption,” Owino stated.
The National Construction Authority (NCA) and investigative agencies have launched a joint probe to determine whether safety regulations were flouted, with state officials promising full accountability for any professional negligence found.
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