From drying area to death: 8-year-old falls from 16th floor in Eastleigh

He had only lived in the building for about a month and hadn’t made any friends in the neighbourhood.

On Sunday morning, while his mother was at a madrasa for prayers, the eight-year-old boy made his way from the 14th to the 16th floor of the building on Keroe Street.

He went to the clothes-drying area, but instead of returning home, he fell and died from severe head injuries.

The incident happened in a recently constructed residential building located just a few meters from the California Police Station in Eastleigh.

The building, which is still unnamed, houses new tenants, many of whom were left in shock by the tragedy.

Radio Generation Kenya has learnt that the boy had moved from the 14th to the 16th floor before accessing the clothes drying area, where he fell.

Police officers from the California Police Station are now investigating the circumstances that led to the incident.

Witnesses said the child’s mother had gone to the nearby madrasa for prayers.

When she was informed of the incident, she rushed back to the building and found that her son had already died.

The body was taken to the City Mortuary, where a postmortem will be carried out before funeral arrangements are made.

The tragedy has raised fresh concerns among residents of the building, who say the protective wall on the upper floors is dangerously low.

Several tenants are now calling for urgent safety measures, including the installation of higher barriers.

Such incidents are not new.

In March 2025, a three-year-old boy in Nairobi’s Huruma estate died after falling from the balcony of a fifth-floor apartment.

He had been playing with his friends when he slipped and fell headfirst.

His mother told police she was inside the house when she heard screams.

In another case, a mason died after falling from the eighth floor of a house under construction in Mukuru, Nairobi.

Officials have continued to call on developers to put up safety measures such as grills and barriers to prevent these tragedies.

They say some developers overlook safety in the rush to complete buildings, leaving many lives, especially children’s are at risk.