Tenants vacate flats over fears of collapse

Dar es Salaam. The occupants of a flat in Kariakoo have been forced to leave their homes and businesses after cracks appeared in the walls sparking fears of collapse, The Citizen has learnt.

The four-storey Mchikichini building reportedly developed cracks during the demolition of another structure next to it.

But workers on site where the other structure is being de-molished said the cracks had nothing to do with the demoli-tion.

By late yesterday, most of the tenants and owners had voluntarily vacated the building while a few of them could be seen removing their property.

When The Citizen visited the place, some of the residents were still trying to come to terms with the fact they had suddenly been left homeless.

A member of the last family to vacate the cracked building said they had voluntarily left because “the risk was too much”.

“We cannot stay even though we have no other place to go, there is no point risking our lives,” said Rashmi Mahta, one of the occupants.

She said she had not been home for a few days when the other residents left citing fears of an imminent collapse.

“I was so surprised when I came back home only for my neighbours to advise me to vacate the place immediately because it was falling apart,” she said.

Her 72-year-old mother, Ms Sahara Ibrahim Nareja, told The Citizen she had been dealt a heavy blow because only last week, she underwent a knee surgery. Ms Mahta said her neighbours had also advised her the tenants had been promised Sh1.8 million by the owner of the building to help them look for alternative accommoda-tion.

She said: “We have not been given anything yet, and we still have no place to go.”

While the occupants said the cracks were caused by the demolition of a building next door, a worker with the firm pulling down the structure denied the reports.

“This demolition has nothing to do with the cracks. The structure was built a long time ago, and we understand it did not meet the minimum standards required for such buildings,” said Mohamed Mswahili.

He said if it had been built according to the required standards, it could not have cracked due to the demolition of an independent structure.

“There are other tall buildings in this area. Why did they not crack?” he queried.