The fugitive owner of the six-storey killer building that collapsed in Kasarani claiming three lives so far has been identified as Joel Kamau Kibe.
The man who said to have mastered notoriety in going against the law and having his way due to his deep pockets is still at large.
The project of the reportedly rogue developer was flagged three times due to non-compliance including that fateful morning when everybody was cleared from the site but a few are said to have defied the orders.
Effectively, the building had been condemned as unsafe prior to yesterday’s tragic occurrence.
Further, the construction had been suspended vide order S/No. 143383 on September 20, 2022
due to non-compliance issues including forgery of the project registration certificate.
According to the National Construction Authority (NCA) Executive Director Engineer Maurice Akech, on that fateful day the now infamous project was suspended, Kibe’s site foreman one Sylvester Oluoch was arrested and detained at Kasarani Police Station.
“The developer on record for the construction is Joel Kamau Kibe.” NCA Director said.
Investigations by The Informer established Oluoch was mysteriously released without being presented in court.
In what paints a clear gusto of impunity, during a second enforcement check by NCA at the same site on October 28, 2022 a month later, another representative of Kibe was arrested and arraigned before Makadara Law Courts over non-compliance issues where the case is actively ongoing.
“A further compliance check on the morning of the collapse revealed that the construction was experiencing column failure based on visual observation. All persons were cleared from the construction site. Unfortunately, a few persons reportedly defied the order and the construction collapsed on them hours later.” Akech noted.
According to sources, immediately before the tragic occurrence, the foreman reportedly gave an order to some employees to hide inside the structure to evade the inspection officers.
However, despite the triple condemnation by NCA officials, Akech did not confirm whether or not they sought eviction notice to safeguard the lives and enforcement from Kasarani Police Station or not.
Also, the developer is said to be operating in cahoots with rogue Nairobi County government officials drawn from Urban Planning to avoid the long arm of the law.
Further, the approval plans granted by the Nairobi County to the developer have also been questioned.
Defiance of suspension orders can attract three years’ imprisonment or a fine of Sh1million or both.
