The contractor of the building that collapsed killing three people in Kisumu’s Mamboleo area has been arrested.

Police in Kisumu confirmed that the contractor was arrested on Monday, September 13, and is currently being held at Kondele Police Station.

He will be arraigned on Tuesday, September 14.

However, the officers are yet to trace the whereabouts of the owner of the building, who has since gone into hiding after the Monday afternoon tragedy. The contractor’s arrest followed hours after the two-storey building he was supervising collapsed killing three and injuring multiple others.

Several people, who were trapped in the debris, were rescued by officers drawn from the Kenya Red Cross and the Kisumu County government.

Of those injured, six are still hospitalised.

The three deceased, two men and one woman, have been identified and their bodies moved to Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital mortuary.

The rescue operation was called off in the late hours of Monday evening after authorities ascertained that no person working at the site was unaccounted for.

Eye witnesses stated that the building was a ticking time bomb as it had developed huge cracks.

Regional Coordinator of the National Construction Authority (NCA), Eng. Amos Musau, said the authority, in August 2020, issued the owner of the building with a notice for closure of the site for not adhering to building regulations.