Three university students were among the five people that lost their lives at the collapsed building in Murang’a town.
Two of the students were from Murang’a University of Technology (MUT) while one was a student at Moi University.
Emmanuel Asande(MUT), was a second-year student pursuing Civil Engineering while Daniel Nkulet was a third-year procurement student at the same institution.
Asande was on an industrial attachment and had worked on the collapsed building for the last two weeks.
He was rescued at around 11 pm on the same day but died shortly after arriving at Murang’a Level Five Hospital.
A medical report indicated that he sustained injuries on his spine that caused his demise.
Nkulet on the other hand had been engaged as a casual worker for four weeks before the incident happened. The student had deferred a semester.
MUT’s Vice Chancellor Prof Dickson Nyariki said the incident has left the institution in grief saying the two were hardworking students whose futures were bright.
While condoling with their families, Nyariki said the university will support their families in preparing for their burial ceremonies.
Murang’a University Students Organisation (MUSO) president Davis Kemboi said a ceremony will be organised to mourn their departed colleagues.
“We are still trying to process the death of our counterparts who were just striving to support themselves financially," Kemboi said.
Third student, Geoffrey Wachira, was studying Bachelor of Arts in Sociology at Moi University and had also been engaged as a casual worker.
His father Lawrence King’ori said he chose to seek construction work after his attachment at Murang’a Level Five Hospital came to an end.
The distraught father said his son was scheduled to resume his studies in September for his fourth year.
“I did not see any harm in allowing him to do construction jobs to earn some money. He was barely two weeks old at the site when he died,” he said, eulogising him as a hardworking youngster.
The building collapsed at around 4 pm on Monday after which rescue operations kicked in led by the Disaster Response Battalion, the county disaster management unit and the Redcross.
Four people are still recuperating at Murang'a Level Five Hospital after being rescued.
On Tuesday, Governor Irungu Kang’ata said the building was approved in June last year before he took office and that the officer who approved it was suspended two months ago over failure to keep records and remit money paid for approvals.
Public Works Principal Secretary Joel Arumonyang said investigations had been commenced to establish what caused the collapse.