“Some powerful people in Kenya are helping the developers to block the city government from demolishing the illegally constructed buildings,” Kidero explains.

The 198-room building was one of 226 structures previously condemned as unsafe and earmarked for demolition by city of Nairobi’s quality-assurance department.

A local court blocked demolition after owners obtained an injunction. The case is still pending. None of the 226 buildings have occupancy certificates, says Daniel Manduku, executive director and CEO of Kenya’s National Construction Authority.

One official, Michael Okonji, president of the Institution of Engineers of Kenya, would not confirm if the contractor and engineers of the collapsed building are licensed until ongoing investigations are completed to establish the cause of the collapse.