Four people were injured when a building undergoing demolition along Moi Avenue in Nairobi’s CBD collapsed on Friday night, prompting calls for an investigation into how the operation was being carried out.
The structure, which formerly housed Club Avenida, came down on October 16, 2026, near MKU Union Towers, sending debris towards adjoining pedestrian areas and raising concerns about the safety of people in the vicinity.
Rescue teams and security officers responded to the scene, secured the area and began checking the rubble for anyone who might have been trapped.
Three of the injured were reported to be in stable condition, while the fourth was critically injured. Details about their identities and the circumstances in which they were hurt had not been confirmed.
Nairobi City County Chief Officer for Citizen Engagement and Customer Service Geoffrey Mosiria called on county engineers to investigate the demolition and establish what led to the building’s collapse.
The inquiry, he said, should establish whether qualified professionals were involved in directing the work and whether the demolition had received the necessary approvals.
“I call upon our county engineers to conduct a thorough investigation into this specific demolition to establish the cause of the collapse, determine whether qualified experts were involved to guide the demolition, and verify whether all the necessary demolition approvals had been obtained,” Mosiria stated.
The findings could clarify whether the required procedures were followed before and during the demolition.
Mosiria’s call places the focus on the technical supervision and regulatory approvals required when buildings are brought down in busy urban areas.
The former Club Avenida premises sit along a commercial stretch of the CBD where pedestrian movement, nearby businesses and adjoining properties make site safety particularly important.
The cause of the collapse had not been established in the information available following the incident. The county investigation is expected to help determine the circumstances surrounding the failure and whether the demolition complied with the relevant requirements.
The incident has renewed attention on the need to protect workers and the public during demolition projects, particularly in densely built-up parts of Nairobi.
