Kisii town residents have been cautioned against renting houses whose construction is a suspect and could therefore endanger their lives knowingly.
This comes a week after a poorly constructed house in Jogoo estate collapsed and destroyed properties besides inconveniencing innocent tenants, though no casualties were reported.
Speaking on Wednesday, former Nyaribari Masaba legislator Hezron Manduku said tenants also had an obligation of ensuring they lived in a safe environment without necessarily waiting for a danger to erupt.
He said the public had an obligation under the law of tort to avoid negligence that could endanger their lives or otherwise that of the neighbours.
“When renting a house one ought to be very careful. It is your obligation to ensure you occupy a safe building without necessarily waiting for the real danger. It is sad that people have to be evicted forcibly from a building that is on the verge of collapsing,” he said.
“It is not a must to always complain to the government over an issue. Our safety starts with an individual and not necessarily a collective effort,” he said.
He asked the county government to also invoke various acts to apprehend and arraign before the court owners of buildings whose constructions do not meet standards as per the law.
“The county government should punish those building houses that endanger lives of innocent Kenyans. They should be arrested and charged in court over murder,” said the former legislator.