Why I stayed away from Eastleigh collapse, Sifuna explains

Nairobi Senator Edwin Sifuna has explained why he stayed away from the Eastleigh building collapse scene despite the growing number of casualties, saying he did not want his presence to disrupt rescue operations or make the difficult exercise harder for emergency teams.

Speaking in the Senate on Thursday, November 5, 2026, Sifuna said he had relied on guidance from the Kenya Red Cross, which had advised leaders and members of the public against visiting disaster scenes where their presence could interfere with rescue efforts.

The Linda Mwananchi Movement (LMM) leader also defended his decision not to issue a public statement following the October 23 tragedy, arguing that issuing routine condolence messages whenever such incidents occur would not address the deeper problems behind building collapses.

He pointed to the situation at the Eastleigh scene, where police officers were forced to use tear gas to disperse crowds that had gathered as rescue teams worked to reach people trapped beneath the debris.

"I have always followed instructions from the Kenya Red Cross, and they advised us not to go to the sites because sometimes we actually impede rescue efforts. In Eastleigh, the police had to use tear gas to disperse the crowd," Sifuna stated.

The senator said he had grown uncomfortable with the expectation that elected leaders should respond to every tragedy by issuing statements of sympathy instead of confronting the factors that lead to such disasters.

"As the Nairobi Senator, I have gotten to a point where it is very difficult for me to stand up every time something like this happens to issue a standard statement condoling the families; we must confront the monster, which is impunity," he stated.

Sifuna attributed the Eastleigh tragedy to corruption within public institutions and powerful investors who allegedly use their connections with senior government officials to evade construction laws and regulations.

He argued that the country needed to confront the influence of individuals who use their positions and connections to bypass building approval procedures, warning that condolence messages alone would not prevent similar incidents.

The Nairobi senator also turned his attention to the county government's oversight of construction projects, revealing that the Senate had previously summoned Governor Johnson Sakaja over concerns about the operations of the building appeals board.

He explained that the board was established to give residents an avenue to challenge construction projects in their neighbourhoods but had at some point become non-functional because its members were not receiving their allowances.

"We have a law that there is an appeals board that residents can go to if they have a challenge or problem with a construction in their neighbourhood. At some point, that board was non-functional just because they were not being paid their allowances. We summoned the governor here, and we thought those issues were resolved,"

Sifuna further called for scrutiny of construction projects belonging to influential individuals, insisting that even those considered untouchable should have their developments subjected to audits.

His remarks came as the humanitarian situation at the Eastleigh collapse site continued to worsen, with the National Police Service confirming that the death toll had climbed to eight following the recovery of six additional bodies on Thursday.

According to the police, the latest victims comprised four women and two men, bringing the total number of confirmed fatalities to eight, while only four people had so far been rescued alive.

“Four survivors have so far been rescued alive. Sadly, six more people—four women and two men—were found deceased today, 5 November 2026, bringing the confirmed number of fatalities to eight,” the NPS stated.

Multi-agency teams remained at the scene, continuing search and recovery operations as they worked to access sections of the collapsed structure and establish whether more people could still be trapped beneath the rubble.

The building came down on October 23, prompting a multi-agency emergency response that has continued as authorities work to account for everyone affected by the disaster.