Panic, evacuation, and a thunderous explosion shook Mombasa on Wednesday afternoon as the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF) executed a dramatic, high-risk demolition of a towering 11-story structure teetering on the edge of disaster.
WAR-LIKE SCENE IN KILIFI AS KDF MOVES IN
After nearly five hours of intense strategizing, KDF engineers unleashed a controlled detonation that reduced the doomed skyscraper in Kilifi, Mvita Sub-County, to rubble—leaving a giant cloud of dust and a stunned city behind.
The building, described by experts as a ticking time bomb, had been declared structurally unfit due to major foundational flaws, worsened by an illegally drilled borehole right beneath it. A portion of the building had already sunk, sparking fears of an unprompted collapse.
CITY LOCKDOWN – FEAR SPREADS AS BLAST APPROACHES
The government sounded the alarm on Tuesday, revealing that KDF would use live military-grade explosives to demolish the building—sending shockwaves of anxiety through the local population.
ENTIRE ZONE SEALED OFF – MASS EXODUS OF THOUSANDS
Governor Abdulswamad Nassir led an emergency operation that saw over 60,000 residents in Tononoka Ward ordered to evacuate. Schools, businesses, and hospitals were forced to close. The Nyali Bridge, a vital artery connecting the island to the mainland, was shut down. Streets went silent. Entire neighborhoods went dark.
HOSPITALS EMPTIED, MARKETS CLOSED – MOMBASA STANDS STILL
In a rare move, 289 patients from Coast General Teaching and Referral Hospital were rushed to alternative county facilities to clear the blast zone. The ever-busy Markiti Market was also locked down—no trade, no movement, no exceptions.
MILITARY PRECISION – THEN SILENCE, THEN A BOOM
By 9:00 am, military teams had set up a command post in Tononoka. But the operation faced delays as a handful of defiant residents remained in the danger zone, forcing police into door-to-door sweeps to flush them out.
Then, at 1:55 pm, the air was shattered by a single, deafening blast. In just seconds, the towering structure crumbled like a house of cards—a stunning display of KDF’s unmatched precision and power.
CITY LEFT IN SHOCK – BUT CATASTROPHE AVERTED
The terrifying spectacle may be over, but the aftermath remains. Mombasa residents are still coming to terms with the rare military demolition that turned a routine afternoon into a scene from a war zone.
