Sakaja said a document circulating on social media purporting to show that the development was approved in February 2024 was misleading, arguing that the applic

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja/JOHNSON SAKAJA/XBuy Maps

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has disputed claims that the building that collapsed in Eastleigh had county development approval, saying the developer proceeded with construction without the required authorisation.

“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. They allege that the development was approved in January of 2024. This is not true,” he said.

The governor said the application for development approval was made in November 2024, challenging claims that it had been approved in February of the same year.

He distinguished between approval for a change of user and approval to undertake construction, saying the two processes were separate.

According to Sakaja, the developer applied in August 2024 to change the property's user from residential to residential and commercial. The county approved the change of user in October 2024.

“Also, there is a difference between a change of user approval and a development approval,” he said.

Sakaja maintained that the county had never granted development approval for the project, accusing the developer of proceeding with construction despite enforcement action and arrests.

“The developer went on to build with impunity and without building approvals despite enforcement action by the county and arrests,” he said.

The governor's statement comes amid a dispute over the approvals for the collapsed building, with a city politician alleging that the county had authorised the construction.

In a social media post, the politician claimed that Sakaja had misled Kenyans by saying the building had no approval and alleged that the governor had approved the construction.

The politician also accused the governor of receiving a Sh120 million bribe, an allegation that was not substantiated in the material provided.

Separately, a planning professional, through his lawyers, has issued a demand dated October 25, 2026, seeking the removal of a social media post alleging that a county approval document had been issued through him.

The lawyers disputed the authenticity of the document, saying it falsely identified their client as a registered physical planner responsible for issuing the approval.

They stated that their client was an architect, not a physical planner, and demanded that the post be pulled down within six hours, warning that legal proceedings could follow.

The county's position, as stated by Sakaja, is that a change-of-user approval was granted but development approval was not.

Experts in the planning profession have also termed the document shared on social media by the city politician as "outright forgery; the reference, the name of the professional and the approval conditions don’t match."

However, the experts argue that, notwithstanding, "How did that building go all the way up to the 15th floor without being stopped?"