Gilani’s 'safe' but not yet reopened

Gilani’s Supermarket that was shut down a month ago over safety concerns is now safe for occupation.

The National Building Inspectorate (NBI) announced an engineering firm detailed to supervise the rehabilitation of the building had declared it structurally sound.

Moses Nyakiongora, from NBI, confirmed that renovation work on part of the building that was suspected to be unsafe had been undertaken as per recommendations of engineers.

“I wish to report that the work has been done as specification and the building is now ready for occupation,” Mr Nyakiongora said.

Engineer Antony Gichuru of Tonygirth Engineers and Builders Limited, who supervised the rehabilitation work at the basement of the Supermarket's wholesale section, filed a report declaring it safe.

Repair work

“The repair works addressed all the issues that we discovered in the basement and the ground level. The building is now safe for occupation,” wrote Mr Gichuru.

But the county administration says it will only order the reopening of the closed section of the supermarket after receiving an official report from NBI.

“The sanctions against Gilani’s Supermarket are still in force until we receive an official report on the structural integrity of the building from NBI,” said Justine Mokaya, a building inspector with the county government.

County Public Health Department official Paul Waititu said the closure notice was still in force until a health inspection was done on the building.

“There are some issues that need to be addressed on the part of the health department,” he said.

Gilani’s Supermarket General Manager Rajinder Puri said it had fulfilled all the conditions set by NBI and that he expected the county government to lift the closure.