Three days after a six-storey building at Gatong’ora area of Ruiru, Kiambu County was reported to have cracks sending fear of possible collapse, the county government of Kiambu has given it a clean bill of health.
The county declared the house safe for occupation after it emerged that it only had minor cracks on the walls which do not affect the structural element of the building.
Speaking after county engineers and top leadership in the executive joined National Construction Authority (NCA) officials to inspect the building, John Kamau, a county engineer, stated that the building columns and beams are structurally sound.
“The columns and the beams are structurally firm. It has minor cracks on the walls that do not have an effect on the safety of the building,” Kamau said.
According to Kiroko Ndegwa, an advocate representing the owner of the Deep East Apartments, alarm of the house being on the verge of collapse was raised by a defaulter tenant who had three months arrears and was seeking a way out of the building.
“He had earlier threatened my client that he was going to ruin the reputation of this building. Fortunately, we have laws that govern the construction industry and my client is in violation of none of those laws.
“We have spent the better part of today with people charged with protecting citizens among them county engineers, National Construction Authority (NCA) and they have given the building a clean bill of health,” Ndegwa said.
Ndegwa, who insisted that the safety of tenants should not be taken lightly, said that the building did not have cracks that could compromise its integrity.
Tour of the building
A tour of the building revealed that tens of tenants were still intact with most of them seen going about their activities with ease including washing clothes.
At the building, several high-end vehicles had also been parked, an indication that residents were non-responsive to the alarm raised by the 27-year-old tenant who Ndegwa insisted will be sued for maliciously rampaging the name of the owner of the building.
The tenant in question is reported not to have issued any vacation notice and only kept promising to pay the rent before he moved to his mother’s house who lived adjacent to his.
“The tenant has made away with huge arrears of rent. This house is a huge investment and the owner must recoup his money.
"We cannot take it lightly that he not only left without paying rent but also injured the reputation of the owner of the building he was living in, he will pay for it. We will take legal action against him,” Ndegwa said.
