As high-rise buildings are erected every day to feed Nairobi’s growing population, it also poses significant challenges to city dwellers.

Residents of Pangani, Ushirika area are decrying health, safety and economical hazards associated with high rise buildings.

On Thursday, Nairobi City County rendered a notice stopping construction of high-rise building in Pangani on grounds of site safety and security following an incident that saw property of unknown value destroyed.

Department of Urban Development and Planning said they rendered the notice after site visit following complaints over destruction of property emanating from the construction of a high rise building in Ushirika area in Pangani.

Kassimu Evans, the lawyer representing a client whose building was affected and her tenants’ car damaged, has condemned the construction of the property saying it is costing his client losses as tenants may vacate.

“The iron sheet, tenants motor vehicles have been damaged and bricks are falling on the beds of clients, we have done several letters for them to stop the construction and compensate for loss incurred but is has not happened,” said Evans adding that they are awaiting an assessor to state the value of the damage before proceeding to court.

The lawyer has accused the developer of failing to cooperate with the requests of the landlady for compensation. He fears that his client might lose her tenants over the safety issues. 

According to the landlady of the affected property, a bag of cement fell from an ongoing construction destroying a car and a roof.

“We gave instructions that the construction of the building stops with immediate effect, in order to allow for investigations,” Patrick Analo Akivaga, chief officer of urban development and planning has said.

Despite the warning, a spot check by The Standard found construction was still ongoing.

According to the Physical and Land Use Planning Act, the approval of buildings is a mandate vested upon the county government of Nairobi. The building in question, was approved by the county government of Nairobi.

Interestingly a notice seen by The Standard, indicated that the developer was not in compliance with safety measures. 

“You are hereby required to immediately stay the development and submit the required information documents within fourteen days of serving this notice,” reads the notice.

The matter which has since been reported to the police in Pangani, is pending further investigations.

Elizabeth Nyambura Muthee, a resident of Ushirika in Pangani and a mother of child with disability- Cerebral palsy- has also complained of noise and dust disturbances that have affected their household.

“As a special needs mom, most of the night I need to take the kid outside for the sun, but right now I cannot get my daughter outside with construction going on,” she decried.

According to Muthee, the noise from the construction has caused her child to frequently convulse, and with the lasted incident, she fears next time the damage could be worse.

The county officers were of the opinion that the developer is presumably and purposefully posing intimidation to face out the landlord and buy the property.