An estimated 85 percent of buildings in the capital Nairobi might as well be declared unsafe for occupation due to systemic failures, majority attributed to prevalence of substandard construction materials in the market. Nairobi hosts the largest population of urban settlers, most of them who live in informal and middle-class areas that are dotted by high-rise apartments.
Experts in the Built Industry – who are calling for a fresh audit of construction materials in the market and vetting of professionals in the sector – suspect the recent collapse of a multi-storey building in Nairobi’s South C could be attributed the use of poor-quality cement, steel and other related products.
Their sentiments are in line with various studies that highlight a widespread crisis of substandard construction materials in Kenya. In the year 2022 for instance, some reports showed high failure rates for cement and steel, detailing 3 out of 5 samples failing integrity test.
Arch. George A. Ndege, the President Architectural Association of Kenya (AAK) described the status of the building industry in the country as dire, and even stopping short of imagining the impact of a tremor, if a major one was to happen.
“The status of the built environment in Kenya is dire, and actually we are living by the grace of God,” he told journalists in Nairobi.
Ndege went as far as noting that if a tremor, even at the very low scale, was to happen in Kenya today, a lot of buildings would come down.
Alongside him, Sen. Arch. Sylvia M. Kasanga, the President, The Architects Alliance (TAA) while calling on Kenyans to trust and rely on the professionals in the industry to do a diligent job, she revisited the issue of the negative economic impact brought about by counterfeit construction materials in the market.
“We are crying alcohol because we are ingesting it, but our buildings are killing us, because we don’t know about these building materials, what quality they are,” she said, pointing out that the issue of substandard building materials is a reality they are grappling with as professionals.
She advised Kenyans that if they want to consume services rendered by the built environment professionals, they only need to do their due diligence and have them do the work because they are highly trained and ready.
Various data paint that substandard construction materials in the Kenyan market. For instance, the National Construction Authority (NCA) data shows that over 86 buildings collapsed across the country between 2009 and 2019, with many of these incidents attributed to substandard cement and steel that fail to provide adequate structural integrity.
As captured in the local media, in a recent NCA audit of 2021, shockingly revealed that 35 out of every 100 buildings in Kenya are at risk of failure, predominantly due to material shortcomings.
Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) internal reports are equally damning. A 2022 analysis indicated that a staggering three out of five percent samples failed basic strength tests. While compliance improved slightly to 63.4 percent late 2023, this still means over a third of the market is compromised.
“The overall economic impact of counterfeit goods in Kenya, with construction materials being a major part,” Arch. Kasanga said, even as reports highlight massive losses of more than Sh100 billion annually from fake cement and steel causing collapses, jeopardizing public safety, and costing billions in repairs as well as economic damage, with cartels selling substandard products even under major brands like Bamburi and Simba Cement companies.
Kenya’s building-collapse crisis is increasingly being linked to the widespread use of substandard cement and steel in construction.
“And when you look at the reports, looking at information in the internet, we are talking about an estimation of 2.31 billion U.S. dollars, about Sh230 billion, an equivalent of an estimated value of illicit and counterfeit building, construction, and electrical sector materials,” said Arch. Kasanga, wondering; “why this is happening in our country.”
She said the contractor has a huge duty of care, because they are supposed to present certificates proving that the materials they are using meet the correct standards.
“Recent reports indicate that some materials entering the market fail basic strength and durability tests, undermining structural integrity from the foundation stage,” she noted.
Other stakeholders, including The Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK), Institute of Quantity Surveyors of Kenya (IOSK), and the Association of Construction Project Managers of Kenya (ACPMK) among others, noted that the problem is compounded by weak enforcement of standards, corruption, and cost-cutting by developers seeking higher margins.
“The. Unscrupulous suppliers exploit gaps in regulation, flooding sites with counterfeit or diluted products that pass informal inspections but fail under real stress,” said Eric Nyadimo, President ISK.
The other professional bodies that were present included; The Kenya Institute of Planners (KIP), The Women in Real Estate (WIRE), The Institution of Surveyors of Kenya (ISK), and Interior Designers’ Association of Kenya (IDAK).
“Beyond materials, the crisis exposes systemic failure across the construction value chain. Without strict quality control, transparent procurement, and accountability for engineers, contractors, and regulators, poor-quality inputs will continue to translate into deadly collapses,” noted Fawcett Komollo President, KIP.
In a joint statement “End the impunity to stop building collapses”, Eng. Shammah Kiteme, the IEK President, stated that the perennial problem of building collapses will not stop until the underlying issues are comprehensively addressed.
“We call upon the parties within the sector to address all the underlying issues which are not limited to among others poor governance, political interference, by-passing procedures, corruption, involvement of quacks, credential renting, lack of geotechnical investigations, poor construction sequencing, poor construction materials, lack of quality control during construction/execution among other issues,” he said.
Reacting to the January 2 South C building collapse, the professionals expressed their anger over the systemic lapses that occasioned the building to collapse and the loss of life.
“As professionals Architects, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Planners, Construction Managers, Surveyors, and allied practitioners we must always take responsibility. Where our members have failed in design, supervision, certification, or ethical conduct, they must be held to account,” they said.
The bodies noted that building collapses arise from interconnected lapses across the entire development chain- from planning and design, to approvals, materials, construction methods, inspection, enforcement, and political interference.
However, they expressed readiness to work with the national government, regulators, and county governments to cure these failures and restore public confidence in the industry.
“We want key systemic issues to be addressed as a matter of urgency, and indeed we must fix the problem at the counties,” they said, calling on the planning departments in the counties to invest in value addition to the development control and building control.
They cautioned however, that this must not be seen as merely revenue generation exercises.
“Every county must have a Chief Architect, Chief Engineer and Chief Planner. These professionals must ensure that Inspections, Quality Assurance and Quality Control are done for all building approvals,” they said.
The evidence of a systemic material crisis is not new, the professionals say it is merely being ignored, as authoritative reports have been sounding the alarm for over a decade.
And therefore, this means that the projected 7.5 percent growth in the construction sector for 2025/26 rests on a precarious base of substandard materials and systemic market failures. This situation is largely driven by unscrupulous suppliers who prioritize profit margins over public safety.
Now, the professionals want all the Issues that have been identified to be addressed, using peer review as a powerful safety tool, and should be made mandatory for all the works at all the stages from planning, design, approvals, and execution.
“There is also the need to establish a national planning system, whereby planning being a devolved function, empowers a closer monitoring of the buildings by counties,” Eng. Kiteme read.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) embarked on investigations to establish what exactly led to the building to collapse.
“And following the completion of investigations from this incident, we call for the following; a multi-stakeholder task force composed of professionals to investigate systemic failures, including: structural design and supervision; construction methodology and sequencing; quality assessment of materials used; approval, inspection, and enforcement breakdowns among others.
The professionals also want the developer to be accountable, including; immediate obligation to provide reparations to affected families; full audit of the developer’s other projects by the same multi-m stakeholder team, applying identical rigor.
“We are also calling for a swift regulatory action to deregister and prosecute, where appropriate, of culpable Architects, Engineers, Quantity Surveyors, Planners, Surveyors, Contractors, Developers and other registrable parties,” they demanded.
