NAIROBI, Kenya, June 6 — The Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) has approved manslaughter charges against suspended Nairobi County Planning Chief Patrick Analo Akivaga and his successor Dominic Mutegi in connection with the deadly collapse of the Manzil Towers building in Nairobi’s South C area.
The decision follows months of investigations into the January 2 tragedy that claimed the lives of two security guards after the building, which was still under construction, came crashing down in the early hours of the morning.
In a statement issued Friday, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) said it had established sufficient evidence to prosecute several public officials, developers and construction professionals linked to the project.
Analo will also face charges of abuse of office and neglect of official duty under the Penal Code.
The suspended county official was released Friday on a cash bail of Sh500,000 after spending the night in custody at the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) police station.
Investigators are separately pursuing corruption, unexplained wealth and money laundering investigations after more than Sh65 million in cash was recovered during a raid at Analo’s residence in Syokimau on Thursday.
His wife, who was also arrested during the operation, was released on a Sh100,000 cash bail.
The latest developments prompted Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja to suspend Analo from office and initiate sweeping reforms within the county’s urban planning and approvals department following recommendations from the anti-graft agency.
According to the ODPP, investigations revealed failures in the approval, oversight and regulatory processes surrounding the construction of Manzil Towers before the structure collapsed.
“The DPP has determined that there is sufficient evidence and a realistic prospect of conviction to warrant the prosecution of several suspects connected to the incident,” the prosecution office said.
Other suspects are expected to face charges including making and uttering false documents, neglect of official duty and commencing a project without an Environmental Impact Assessment licence.
The accused persons are expected to be arraigned in court to answer to the charges.
Manzil Towers, located along Kiganjo Muhoho Avenue in the South C Shopping Centre area, collapsed at about 4 a.m. on January 2, 2026, triggering a large-scale rescue and recovery operation involving the Kenya Red Cross, Kenya Defence Forces Disaster Response Battalion and the National Youth Service.
Rescue teams spent six days combing through the rubble before recovering the bodies of two security guards trapped beneath the debris.
The incident reignited concerns over weak enforcement of construction regulations and accountability within Nairobi County’s planning department amid rising cases of unsafe buildings in the capital.
