Irungu Nyakera slams Sakaja’s power push after South C building collapse
By Aloys Michael, January 4, 2026Democracy for Citizens (DCP) Party Nairobi Patron, Irungu Nyakera, has scoffed at Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja over his call for counties to be granted prosecutorial powers following the deadly collapse of a multi-storey building at South C shopping centre.
In a statement on Sunday, January 4, 2026, Nyakera accused the governor of deflecting blame instead of taking responsibility for failures within his administration, arguing that the county already has sufficient legal authority to prevent such disasters if existing laws are properly enforced.
“Governor Sakaja showed up two days after the South C building collapsed and is now asking for constitutional amendments so he can ‘do his job.’ That is simply deflection,” Nyakera wrote on X.
The building collapsed on Friday, January 2, 2026, after developers are said to have constructed additional floors beyond what had been approved by county authorities.
Sakaja, in a media briefing on Sunday, defended his administration and blamed weak enforcement mechanisms, calling for prosecutorial powers to be devolved to counties to rein in rogue developers.
“There are challenges in the enforcement of the regulations that we have expressed in the past. Once a developer gets statutory approvals, as was the case with this building, sometimes when there are infractions, and they are charged, the charges get dropped, or they get a Ksh20,000 fine,” he stated.
However, Nyakera dismissed the push for constitutional changes, insisting that Nairobi County already holds the key powers needed to stop illegal construction.
“The county already has the power to approve buildings, supervise construction, and enforce compliance to ensure what is approved is exactly what is built,” he stated.
According to Nyakera, the tragedy at South C was not caused by a lack of authority, but by a failure to act on warning signs and violations that were visible long before the building came down.
“If those powers were used, people would not be digging bodies out of rubble,” he said.
Sakaja’s explanation
However, Sakaja has maintained that his administration flagged the collapsed building multiple times in 2025 and issued enforcement notices, but claimed that weak penalties and dropped charges undermined county efforts. He cited cases where developers walked away with minimal fines despite serious infractions.
On his part, the former Principal Secretary argued that seeking more powers after a fatal failure sends the wrong message to the public.
“You cannot fail with the authority you have, then ask for more authority to cover up incompetence,” the statement read.
He added that the focus should be on accountability within City Hall rather than shifting blame to constitutional gaps.
“We don’t need to amend the Constitution. The governor just needs to do his job,” Nyakera stated.
Nyakera’s remarks come amid growing criticism from Kenyans and political leaders who have accused the county government of laxity and want a swift probe conducted and those found culpable of the crime charged.