The children of a couple that died in the Ruaka building collapse have spoken of how the establishment's owner defied orders to cease construction after evidence of faults in the building.
Day 2 of Ruaka tragedy: Family of perished couple speak about relationship with building owner
The Ruaka building owner accused the family of the late Peter Karomo who died in the tragedy of spying on him construction authorities
Ruaka building collapses
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The children of Peter Karomo and Faith Wambui who were crushed by the fall of the five-storey building had warned the owner of the danger the building posed due to its poor construction but the owners did not heed.
Patrick Karomo one of the couple’s sons said the fall was loud they thought it was an explosion.
Anthony Karomo holding his late parents' pictures
A relative holding pictures of the two victims of the Ruaka Building collapse
Pulse Live Kenya
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“The fall was very loud I thought it was a trailer explosion and it raised my curiosity to come and see, that's when I discovered it had fallen on my parent’s house,” Patrick said.
The family went on to reveal that the building owner accused them of constantly reporting them to authorities over the building something they said they did not.
Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi said he would push for investigations into the tragedy which was the second in just a week’s time. Wamatangi further said he was disbanding the technical committee that approved the building adding that those found guilty will be charged.
The National Construction Authority has vowed to go after rogue contractors who take up shortcuts to hurriedly and cheaply finish constructions.
Cabinet Secretary for Lands, Publics works, Housing and Urban Development Zachariah Njeru said the ministry was working with other government agencies to ensure other constructions were compliant.
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Ruaka building collapses
Ruaka building collapses
Pulse Live Kenya
“In order to build synergy and enhance coherence and speed in forestalling these calamities, the ministry has arranged a meeting with key stakeholders including the Ministry of Interior the national police service and the county governments to develop a common framework,” CS Njeru said.
The CS said arrests of persons linked to the two recent tragedies had been made with suspects awaiting to be arraigned in court.
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