NAIROBI, Kenya – Kenya Power is headed into a collision with the Nairobi City County government after law enforcement officers, better known as kanjos, dumped garbage outside Stima Plaza.
The tussle stems from a Sh 3 billion electricity bill that the Governor Johnson Sakaja-led administration owes the power utility firm.
In a detailed statement, Kenya Power stated that at around 8:30 am today, the Nairobi City County, accompanied by armed National Police Service officers, stormed its headquarters at Stima Plaza and denied access to both its customers and members of staff.
“The county officers unrepentantly dumped a truckload of garbage at the main entrance of Stima Plaza and parked two other trucks filled with waste, effectively blocking three other entrances to the building,” Kenya Power stated.
Why the Nairobi County kanjos are in hot water
In addition, the power firm stated that the officers clamped and towed 10 Kenya Power vehicles as well as personal vehicles belonging to customers and staff that were parked in public parking spaces around Stima Plaza and Electricity House in Nairobi, despite having paid for the day’s parking fees to the County.
“The officers also harassed and arrested several of our employees, resulting in injuries to some of them,” the statement from Kenya Power reads.
To set the record straight, Kenya Power disclosed that Nairobi City County has an outstanding debt owed to the utility power firm, which has accumulated over the years and currently stands at Sh 3 billion.
“Worryingly, the debt has increased by Sh 1.3 billion in the last two years. We have consistently engaged the county government on multiple occasions to resolve this matter and ensure the settlement of both the outstanding debt and current bills,” said Kenya Power.
For the first time, City County of Nairobi came out, first, ahead of Kenya Power – on the offloaded waste at Stima Plaza entrance ✅The response by KPLC sounds weak. They are talking of being owed a whopping Sh4.3 bn as if it’s pocket change! ✅They met – even with the Governor…
How Governor Johnson Sakaja engaged Kenya Power
According to Kenya Power, one of the most recent discussions took place at Stima Plaza in December 2024, where Governor Sakaja, accompanied by members of the County Executive Committee, met with Kenya Power leadership.
“During the meeting, the governor committed that the county government will be paying Sh 60 million in respect to the old debt and an additional Sh 50 million as payment for the current bill, every month,” the statement further reads.
KPLC, Nairobi County Stand Off Power utility company in wrangles with Nairobi County County clamps cars, heaps waste outside Stima Plaza County retaliating to power disconnection by Kenya Power County claims Kenya owes it Ksh 4.8B in way- leaves fees #CitizenBriefs @jimkario
In January 2025, Kenya Power indicated that the regional government paid Sh 36 million, which was significantly below the expected Sh 330 million required to cover the bills for November 2024 and January 2025.
“On January 20, 2025, we issued a letter reminding the county government to honour its commitment and settle the outstanding balance due on that date. Despite multiple follow-ups through various channels, our efforts to resolve the matter remained unfruitful.”
Why KPLC disconnected the power supply in county facilities
After exhausting all avenues to recover the outstanding debt as outlined in the Energy Act 2019, Kenya Power maintained that it proceeded to disconnect the power supply to several county facilities on February 14, 2025.
“However, we received a letter from the county on Friday, February 21, 2025, informing us that they had initiated a payment of Sh 133 million, pending approval. Based on this commitment, we restored electricity supply to all affected facilities on the same Friday afternoon.”
POSITION STATEMENT ON THE UNFORTUNATE GARBAGE DUMPING INCIDENT AT STIMA PLAZA BY THE NAIROBI COUNTY GOVERNMENT ^JC
The Kenya Power statement further reads:
“Regrettably, on the same Friday evening, officers from the Nairobi City Water and Sewerage Company, acting under what appears to be instructions from the county government, disconnected water supply to Stima Plaza, Electricity House Nairobi, Parklands Substation, and Roysambu depot. Additionally, they blocked the sewer lines at Stima Plaza and Electricity House. These actions were taken even though there are outstanding water bills associated with these premises.”
Why all Kenya Power customers must pay their bills
Given the above, Kenya Power stated that the company’s business operations are guided by applicable laws, which also inform its dispute resolution mechanism with all customers and stakeholders.
“It is therefore regrettable that the Nairobi City County government chose to engage with us through such unethical, unprofessional, and unlawful actions. On the claim that we owe the county money arising from wayleave charges, we wish to state that Section 223 of the Energy Act, 2019, expressly states that “no public body shall charge levies on public energy infrastructure without the consent of the Cabinet Secretary in writing.”
Kenya Power emphasised that it is the country’s electricity distributor that is mandated to supply electricity to customers, bill them, and collect revenue on behalf of the entire energy sector.
“It is therefore important that all customers pay their bills on time to sustain the sector and the economy,” the statement concluded.
