More than 1,000 households in the Malindi villages of Mshongoleni and Kaoyeni have received electricity for the first time since Kenya’s independence.
The two villages get connected through the national government’s Last Mile project.
These villages, long deprived of electricity, have now been connected to the national grid, bringing hope to communities that had given up on ever having access to power.
On Tuesday, Malindi MP Amina Mnyazi, accompanied by officials from Kenya Power, contractors, and consultants, visited the two villages to unveil the project.
During the visit to Mshongoleni, residents were encouraged to cooperate with the contractors by providing access to areas where electricity poles need to be installed and to ensure that their homes are properly wired.
Mnyazi emphasised her commitment to ensuring that electricity reaches every village in her constituency.
She said the current transformers being installed may not have the capacity to serve a larger population and pledged to raise this issue in Parliament.
“The transformers we have now can adequately serve a radius of up to 600 meters. We will propose to Parliament and the Ministry of Energy to install larger transformers with greater capacity to meet the needs of these communities,” said Mnyazi.
Malindi Town Ward MCA Rashid Odhiambo said the Last Mile project would significantly transform the lives of residents.
He said that the availability of electricity would benefit essential services in the area, such as dispensaries and vocational training centres.
“This project will greatly assist our community, particularly the dispensary and vocational training centre within our locality,” Odhiambo said.
Nelly Kashuru, the village elder of Kaoyeni, said street lights will reduce petty crimes, which have risen.
“We have struggled with petty crimes and robberies in our villages. We are thankful that this project will help combat crime in our community,” Kashuru said.
Faith Koka, a customer relations officer at Kenya Power, said that residents had been educated on how to use electricity tokens to avoid being scammed.
She said the installation was free of charge and urged residents to be cautious of cartels who might attempt to exploit them.
“We are pleased that over 1,000 households will be connected to electricity. We have informed the villagers not to pay anything for the connection and to purchase their electricity tokens directly from their phones,” she advised.
Samuel Kasuku, a consultant, said the process would be safe and villagers trained on the proper use of electricity in their homes.
Raphael Ng’ang’a, another project consultant, said no one would be charged for the connection but reminded residents that they would need to handle the wiring, meter box installation, and earthing themselves.
“We are installing new transformers in these villages. The power connection is free of charge, but the villagers are responsible for the wiring in their homes,” Ng’ang’a explained.
