Uthiru Landlady Sent Worrying Text To Tenants Before Building Collapsed

• The building that collapsed in Uthiru on Tuesday, May 7, had shown worrying signs to the landlady
• Tenants said that the landlady communicated about the building's status and engaged an engineer to assess it
• The first engineer's assessment indicated that the house was not likely to collapse but the landlady was not convinced and had invited another expert

Michael Ollinga is a journalist at TUKO.co.ke with over 10 years of experience covering courts and crimes, special reports, and current affairs in Kenya.

Emerging details show that the landlady of the five-storey building that collapsed in Uthiru was worried about the structure's safety.

What caused the Uthiru building to collapse?

The building near the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) began sinking on Tuesday, May 7, trapping several tenants on the lower floors.

Tenants who survived the scary ordeal shared the concerned house owner's text messages about the building's safety.

TUKO.co.ke understands that the building's stability was weakened after the solid used for backfilling seeped a lot of water due to the ongoing heavy rainfall.

According to safetyculture.com, backfilling is the process of filling in the excavated area around a foundation or structure.

Constructors could choose to use soil or gravel as backfilling material.

This material is usually compacted to provide stable support for the structure being constructed and is sometimes used to insulate foundations or improve drainage.

Uthiru landlady's message to tenants before building's collapse

In the land lady's message to her tenants' WhatsApp group, she pointed out that she had instructed an engineer to inspect the safety of the building.

"Hi all. Engineer Chege has inspected the building and stated that the structure is safe. Due to the heavy rainfall, backfilling soil has soaked through, thus the floor breakage," the land lady texted.

The message shows that the first engineer's assessment report of the building did not convince the house owner.

She alerted her tenants to reach out urgently if they saw something going wrong.

Engineer's assessment of collapsed Uthiru building

"I am concerned for all of us and would not wish for anything wrong with our building. Please don’t hesitate to call me if you have any concerns."

The lady even told the tenants that she had reached out to another engineer for a second opinion about the safety of the building.

"I’ve booked another engineer to give us a second opinion. He will be here at 8 a.m. on Wednesday," she continued.

However, the building did not live to stand until Wednesday, May 8, and began sinking on Tuesday, May 7, evening.

It was a relief when rescue agencies said all the tenants, including those trapped in the building, had been rescued and accounted for. There was no reported death.

Proofreading by Nyambura Guthua, journalist and copy editor at TUKO.co.ke

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A man walks past the debris of a collapsed building.

Uthiru Landlady Sent Worrying Text to Tenants Before Building Collapsed

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