Owner of South C building revealed as details of failed oversight & impunity emerge

The construction industry in Kenya is reeling from its first disaster that struck just a few hours into the new year shining the spotlight on an industry plagued by impunity, non-compliance and failed oversight that only comes to light after every disaster.

As has been the case in past tragedies, relevant authorities are breathing fire after the collapsed building in Nairobi’s South C area exposed a series of blunders, impunity and failed oversight that birthed a tragedy shortly after ushering in 2026.

It has since emerged that the building had been flagged at least three times by the Nairobi City County enforcement teams.

The building had been approved for twelve floors but the owner extended construction and was on the sixteenth floor when tragedy struck.

Nairobi County Government Urban Planning Department flagged it May, July and December 2025 but the developer continued with construction in a case that has exposed impunity by wealthy merchants in an industry that has birthed some of the worst tragedies in the country.

The county government explicitly informed the owner of the building to “stop further development forthwith, resubmit plans for re-evaluation of the project” within 14 days.

Police records indicate that three persons working at the site were arrested last year but were released a few days later.

Hassan Jacub, Abdiaziz Hassan Jakub and Wycliffe Omondi Onyango who were apprehended in July 2025 were set free on a Sh.20,000 cash bail.

Not even their arrest could deter the developer who continued with the construction, defying regulatory authorities.

National Construction Authority (NCA) revealed that the project was non-compliant, adding another layer in what is already a worrying case of impunity in the industry.

It has also emerged that the developer, Abyan Consulting Limited's license had expired in mid-2024.

According to NCA, the company’s annual practicing license awarded on the 1st of August 2023 expired on the 31st of July 2024.

However, the developer continued to operate with impunity for more than a year without a valid license until tragedy struck on Friday, exposing a rot that should have been nipped in the bud long ago.

Yussuf Mohamed Yussuf has since been identified as the owner of the building and the engine behind the impunity that saw regulatory authorities defied.

He is also the sole director of Abyan Consulting Limited.

At least four people are believed to be trapped in the rubble with families of those trapped in the collapsed building hanging on to hope that their kin will be found alive.

Why the relevant authorities failed to act decisively and avert the tragedy in a building that had already been flagged is a question that investigators will be keen to answer.