Construction engineers are calling it "a pancake collapse." When the 18-storey building came tumbling down in Eastleigh on the afternoon of 24th October, a predictable sequence followed. Complete with blame games over who in the construction chain dropped the ball.

Nairobi City County is on the spot over building approval lapses that could be behind a series of construction tragedies across the capital.

It is a tragedy that could have been averted. By his own admission, Nairobi City County Governor Johnson Sakaja confirmed the construction of the 18-storey building had not been approved.

As governor, Sakaja oversees a layered web of planning, compliance, and enforcement administrators responsible for building construction processes.

These officials include Tom Achar, the acting County Director of Planning, Compliance, and Enforcement; Wilfred Masinde, Deputy Director of Planning, Compliance, and Enforcement; Richard Mumo, Assistant Director of Planning, Compliance, and Enforcement; and Eric Okuku, Assistant Director in charge of Building Inspection—all based at City Hall.

Kamukunji Sub-county, one of the city's 17 sub-counties where the tragedy occurred, also maintains a structured tier of administrators with distinct responsibilities.

The sub-county has an administrator tasked with ensuring compliance with all county government sectoral laws.

Serving beneath the administrator is the sub-county planning compliance and enforcement officer, who enforces planning laws and the building code; the sub-county environmental compliance officer, who oversees environmental regulations; and sub-county inspectorate officers, locally known as kanjos, who are empowered to arrest non-compliant developers.

According to the National Construction Authority, between 50 and 85 percent of buildings in the capital fail to meet basic safety standards, largely due to substandard materials and poor workmanship, all occurring right under the noses of an elaborate bureaucracy of approvers and supervisors at City Hall.