Leaders from Kilifi County have asked the office of the Director of Criminal Investigations and the Director of Public Prosecution to investigate government officers who took part in approving construction of the Malindi eight-story building which collapsed on Friday.
A man was left dead while 14 others rescued from the remains of the structure. Those rescued include two children and three women.
The leaders said the construction of the structure was illegal for it had previously been stopped by the National Environment Management Authority for breaching environmental standards.
Speaking to journalists at the scene, Kilifi North MP Owen Baya, said that construction of the building is among incidents that are caused by negligence of corrupt government officers.
Baya said, “the officers who went against the law and approved the construction of the building which seems to breach construction standards should be jailed.”
He asked the National Construction Authority to investigate the procedures that led to the construction of the building and immediate measures be taken.
"We have lost a life and scores injured because of a contractor who chose not to follow the construction principles and compromise the standards. We cannot erect buildings for money,” the MP added.
Baya urged the county government of Kilifi to intervene and order all ongoing constructions to be stopped pending approval from the relevant authorities.
Kilifi county National Environment Management Authority coordinator, Samuel Lokoiyot, said construction of the structure was stopped on March 22, 2013.
Lokoiyot said, “when the owner applied for environmental assessment in 2013, the report and plan brought to us had clarity and integrity issues, hence we stopped the process. The last time we checked was December last year, we found out there was nothing going on here. We are shocked to find what we stopped went on untill it has collapsed.”
The NEMA county coordinator said about fifty structures have been stopped in Kilifi due to a breach of construction standards.