The Sh350 million building that was demolished in Mombasa on Wednesday by the Kenya Defence Forces was initially supposed to be a six-storey, it has emerged.

The developers led by businessman-cum-politician Irshad Sumra said the project eventually rose to 11 floors after consultations with other stakeholders.

“We sought and received official clearance for the additional four floors through proper channels. The expansion was lawful and approved,” he added.

According to the developers, the construction was subjected to continuous supervision, including regular inspections by the Mombasa County Department of Planning and Housing. The developers attributed the unexpected failure that led to the building to start sinking to a geotechnical shift, a movement in the earth’s structure that was not anticipated and, according to them, beyond human control.

“This is a moment of great distress for all of us involved in the construction and completion of the building and the amount lost which was a loan,” said Sumra said.

Structural failure

The Mombasa government is yet to release an official report on the cause of the structural failure. The building valued at Sh350 million began sinking on April 2 due to structural failure.

On Wednesday, business owners at the coastal city were left counting huge losses following the controlled demolition of the building located at Kilifi corner.

A spot check on the central business area (CBD), revealed that major supermarkets, banks, retail shops, Marikiti market were closed down as the preparation for the demolition began Wednesday at 6am until it ended.

A representative for the Marikiti business community, Salim Mohammed who runs a butchery said traders incurred huge losses following the disconnection of electricity to their businesses and houses from 7am.

A notice for residents residing within a radius of 1.2 kilometres from the demolition site had been issued on Tuesday by the Mombasa government following the deployment of Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) through a gazette notice.

“We had restocked our businesses since as we had expected the exercise to take a few hours. However we had electricity disconnected since 7am in the morning. It took more than five hours without electricity and with the heat in Mombasa we incurred more losses on food going stale,” he said.