Babu Owino Accuses Sakaja of Lying Over Eastleigh Building Approval After Fatal Collapse

Sign InNationalBabu Owino Accuses Sakaja of Lying Over Eastleigh Building Approval After Fatal CollapseBy Andrew Kariuki · October 25, 2026 · 2 min readSponsored AdBabu Owino has accused Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja of misleading Kenyans over the approval status of the building that collapsed in Eastleigh, Nairobi, claiming that county records show the development was approved in February 2024.

In a post on X, the Embakasi East MP shared a document from Nairobi City County dated February 13, 2024, which he said contradicted Sakaja’s position on the building’s approval.

Owino accused the governor of denying approval for the construction despite the document indicating that a development application submitted by Sakina Star Ltd had been approved.

“This is a big joke from the incompetent Sakaja. He must take responsibility for this tragedy after collecting a bribe of 120 million,” Owino stated, alleging that the governor received a KSh120 million bribe. The bribery allegation was not independently established in the material shared.

The document, titled “Notification of Approval of Application,” identifies the proposed development as a residential and commercial project along 9th Street in Eastleigh, within Kamukunji Sub-County.

It lists plans for 35 residential units, comprising one three-bedroom unit, 22 two-bedroom units and 12 one-bedroom units, alongside a restaurant, mosque and shops.

According to the document, the application was submitted on December 27, 2023, and approved on February 13, 2024, by the Urban Planning Technical Committee under Item No. 2.

The approval notice also lists conditions, including the submission of satisfactory structural details covering foundations, beams, columns and trusses, as well as certification of workmanship by registered professionals and an occupation certificate before the building could be occupied.

The document’s existence does not, on its own, establish whether all construction requirements were met or whether the collapsed building complied with every applicable approval condition.

The dispute follows differing accounts of the development’s approval status. In the account shared alongside Owino’s post, Sakaja reportedly described the document as fake and maintained that only a change-of-user approval had been granted in October 2024, with full plans submitted later and not approved.

The conflicting claims have intensified questions about the approval and inspection of buildings in Nairobi, as scrutiny grows over the circumstances surrounding the Eastleigh collapse.

Owino has called on the governor to take responsibility for the tragedy. However, the claims against Sakaja, including the allegation of a bribe, remain unverified based on the material available.