The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has issued instructions to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) to investigate the collapse of the multi-storey building in Eastleigh, Nairobi.

“Investigations will be conducted on how the building was planned, approved, constructed and monitored for any criminal activity,” the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said in a statement on Monday, October 26, 2026.

The ODPP further stated that there was no file sent to them by Nairobi City County on allegations of wrong doing by any parties involved.

“The DPP wishes to bring to your attention, that as at date no file has been received by us from the Nairobi City County Government on any issues related to the construction of this building regarding any malfeasance by private developers, professionals or county government officials.”

The building collapsed on along 9 th street on Friday October 23. In this investigation the DPP wants to see how the developer acted, and how the contractors, construction professionals and the appropriate public officials acted.

“If there is enough evidence to show criminality ODPP will take necessary actions towards those found to be responsible,” the statement added.

This does not mean anyone or any institution will be held accountable however it will be up to the investigators to find out what happened before prosecutors can decide whether to charge anyone. The investigation follows concern around what the Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja has said about the situation.

“We have approved the change of use but not the plan for the building. This building did not have an occupation certificate and they proceeded to build despite our enforcement efforts,” he has said.

A change of use approval does not necessarily allow for construction of a certain building, therefore investigators will want to know what approvals were needed for this building and whether they were given. They will also need to know if the building adhered to the approved plans.

The National Construction Authority (NCA) have identified the developer as 9th street plaza limited and the contractor as Stromax holdings E.A Limited. The project dates back to July 30th 2025. The architect is Emmanuel Mwangi Maina and the structural engineer is Joseph Muturi Mugu. Simply being registered with the authority does not mean they adhered to all the required approvals.

The DCI are likely to look into this by looking at the documents provided for the project, and see how they were constructed and who was responsible. They will want to know if anyone broke any rules which caused the collapse.

The Engineers Board of Kenya has also announced an investigation.

“We have initiated formal investigations to establish factors which may have led to the collapse and we will determine whether any engineers were involved,” the board said.

If there were any confirmed breaches of professional standards or licensing then there may be some action to be taken by the board.

The investigation by the DCI will centre on any criminal activity, while the engineering regulating body will look into professional responsibility. The ODPP will look into the criminal investigation file and decide if there is enough evidence to prosecute.

The collapse on 23rd October left people injured and damage to property and emergency teams were searching through rubble to find anyone who was reported missing. This has raised concerns around building safety.

While the ODPP have issued directions to look into the approval process of the project and what the responsible parties did, it is still to be determined what caused the collapse and whether anyone can be held criminally accountable.

The DCI will likely provide their findings to the ODPP. However this will depend on if there is enough evidence found to link certain people to criminal offences.