Residents of Huruma estate together with rescuers on the ground of the collapsed building witnessed a miracle early today when a 1.5 year old baby girl was rescued alive in the rubble, four days after the ill-fated building collapsed.

Nairobi Police Boss Japheth Koome, who referred to the rescue as a miracle, told journalists that the toddler was found emaciated on the first floor of the building at around 4am, and was rushed to the Kenyatta National Hospital.

“We had some good news that a young girl – one and a half years of age was rescued this morning. That is a miracle and we expect to continue with the rescue efforts today,” he said.

The Huruma building, collapsed on Friday last week following a heavy down pour that caused havoc in most parts of Nairobi. 136 people have been rescued so far as the death toll rose to 23.

NAIROBI COUNTY WAIVES PERMIT FEES FOR DRAINAGE RENOVATION

The Nairobi County Government has also waived permit fees for building owners who intend to renovate their drainage systems to enable emergency repairs and upgrades in order to manage the flooding caused by the heavy rains.

City Hall usually has to give approval to building owners, who are also required to pay a license fee of Sh4, 000 before undertaking any repairs to their drainage systems.

Nairobi governor Evans Kidero however said the exemption will only affect changes in a minor domestic drainage system.

“Fees for minor domestic drainage clearing, improvement and maintenance works have been waived during this period,” he said.
New or major repairs, he says will have to go through the normal process of drawing maps and seeking approvals to avoid building of shoddy systems.