Embakasi East MP Babu Owino has challenged Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja’s account of the collapsed Eastleigh building, arguing that the National Construction Authority (NCA) cannot approve a development without county government approval.
In a post on X on Sunday, October 25, 2026, Owino said the county’s approval process was central to the NCA’s registration of construction projects, disputing Sakaja’s assertion that the collapsed building lacked development approval.
“There is no way the NCA can approve the construction of any building in Nairobi without the approval of the County Government,” Owino wrote.
He added that NCA registration required a county document known as the PPA2 form.
“NCA registration cannot be completed without the PPA2 form from the County,” the MP stated.
Owino further argued that the county’s decisions guided the national construction regulator.
“It is the approvals issued by the County Government that guide the NCA,” he said.
The remarks came after the collapse of a multi-storey building along 9th Street in Eastleigh, Nairobi, on Friday, October 23, which triggered rescue operations and renewed scrutiny of construction approvals and enforcement in the capital.
Sakaja disputes approval document
Sakaja has maintained that the county approved a change of use for the property but never granted development approval for the proposed high-rise building.
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja during a past media engagement. Photo: Johson Sakaja Source: Facebook
In a statement posted on Sunday, the governor said a document circulating online that purported to show approval for the development was fake.
“I have seen some people peddling a fake approval document alleging that the Eastleigh development was approved. It is telling that this is the same document that the Eastleigh developer used to get NCA approval,” Sakaja said.
He disputed the dates shown in the document, saying the development application was submitted later.
“The application for development as shown below was made in November of 2024, it could not have been approved in February of the same year,” the governor stated.
Sakaja also distinguished between permission to change a property’s use and approval to construct a building.
“Also, there is a difference between a change of user approval and a development approval,” he said.
According to the governor, the developer applied in August 2024 to change the property’s use from residential to residential and commercial. The county approved that change in October 2024, but he said development approval was never granted.
“The developer went on to build with impunity and without building approvals despite enforcement action by the county and arrests,” Sakaja added.
NCA records and disputed documents
In a statement issued on Friday, October 23, the NCA said the building was registered on July 30, 2025, as a proposed development on land reference number 36/11/40 along 9th Street in Eastleigh.
The authority identified 9th Street Plaza Limited as the developer and Stromax Holdings E.A Limited as the contractor. It also listed the project architect and structural engineer.
However, the NCA statement did not establish whether the final building plans had received all the necessary county approvals.
The dispute centres on the scope and authenticity of the documents being circulated, what they authorised and whether the approvals required for the collapsed structure were obtained.
The competing accounts have intensified questions about the relationship between county planning offices and the NCA, as investigators examine the circumstances surrounding the collapse.
The approval dispute remains unresolved, and the claims made by both politicians have not, on their own, established the building’s complete approval history. The relevant county and national records will be central to determining whether the required procedures were followed.