The former Club Avenida building came down near MKU Union Towers, opposite Mageso Chambers. The site was reportedly being cleared for a new development.
Police and emergency teams were rushed to the scene. A search was launched after reports emerged that people could be trapped beneath the rubble.
25 People Were Accounted For
Witnesses said about 25 people had been inside the building when it collapsed. By around 1am, all 25 were reportedly accounted for, though a search continued for a man feared trapped under the debris.
A National Disaster Management Unit official said four injured people had been taken to hospital. Three were reported to be in stable condition, while one remained in critical condition.
The exact cause of the collapse had not been established by the time of publication.
Demolition Safety Under Scrutiny
Preliminary reports suggested that metal support beams on a less stable section of the building had been cut before the collapse. However, this account had yet to be confirmed by investigators.
The incident renewed concerns about safety during demolition work in the city. Members of the public also called for accountability from Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja and the county government.
Neither had issued a statement by the time the report was published.
County Calls for Investigation
Geoffrey Mosiria, Nairobi County’s Chief Officer for Citizen Engagement and Customer Service, visited the scene and called for a full investigation.
He urged county engineers to establish what caused the collapse and whether the demolition had been supervised by qualified professionals.
“I call upon our county engineers to conduct a thorough investigation into this specific demolition,” Mosiria said in a statement.
He also called for checks to determine whether the required demolition approvals had been obtained.
Developers Urged to Follow Rules
Mosiria urged developers to comply with county regulations and consult engineers before carrying out construction or demolition work.
He said the rules were necessary to protect workers and members of the public.
The investigation is expected to establish how the building collapsed and whether safety procedures and approval requirements were followed.
