Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has denied authorising dumping of garbage by the county government staff at Stima Plaza.
Sakaja stated that he only authorized enforcement measures such as blocking access to Kenya Power offices at Stima Plaza, cutting off water supply and sealing sewer lines after the power company disconnected power at City Hall.
The governor stated that the law allows the county government to halt rendering services in cases where clients fail to pay for services offered.
He stated that action was taken starting Friday after the company failed to act on 60-day demand notice it had serve them.
“So on Friday we disconnected water and sewer services at Kenya Power offices and we deployed four vehicles to block the entrance at Stima Plaza. I reprimanded the county staff for dumping garbage at Stima Plaza entrance as they were strictly instructed to block it, not dumping,” Governor Sakaja told Radio Jambo on phone.
The county chief explained that the mistake was corrected and the garbage collected after he intervened.
Addressing the root of the problem, Sakaja said Kenya Power Company owes the county government Sh4.8 billion.
“They owe us Sh4.8 billion for using the county wayleaves used for passage of power and internet cables. They are supposed to pay us and the court directed so,” the governor explained.
Sakaja acknowledged that the county owes the power distributor Sh1.5 billion and that they had agreed to settle the amount partially, with monthly instalments of Sh100 million.
“And we agreed that they won’t come to disconnect power in county offices since we’re also a government and we experience delay in funds disbursement, but they came last week and did the opposite,” he said.
To address the dispute Sakaja revealed that a meeting had been called for all involved parties to find a lasting solution.
He said the meeting will be attended by Head of Public Service Felix Koskei, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja, Kenya Power officials while he and his team will be representing the county.
On Monday, the Nairobi County government and Kenya Power and Lighting Company clashed over a long-standing row emanating from unpaid bills by the two entities.
As Kenya Power accused Nairobi County of not paying electricity bills amounting to Sh3.1 billion on one hand, the City-County government, on the other, said the utility farm owes them Sh4.83 billion.
Trouble started last week after Kenya Power disconnected power in some of the City county offices over unpaid bills.
In retaliation, County Secretary Godfrey Akumali confirmed on Monday that they disconnected the sewerage system and water supply to their Stima Plaza in response to the Kenya power move.
Kenya Power General Manager Commercial and Sales Rosemary Oduor in a press briefing on Monday said they disconnected power in line with the law last week.
“We disconnected power in their offices and some of their installations to distress for their bill arrears. When one fails to pay for their bills, the utility can withdraw the service so that they are impressed upon to pay the bill,” she said.
According to Oduor, they had written to the county announcing their intention to disconnect power over unpaid bills.
She said they restored power to the City-County offices and the affected installations on Friday after the City-County wrote back to them expressing commitment to clear the loan.
“They did not communicate to us for a while but on Friday they got back to us confirming that they were making arrangements to pay a proportion of the bill they were supposed to pay,” she said.
“They requested that we restore the power supply so that we continue with that journey together. We restored the power supply on Friday based on the commitment.”
In a rejoinder, Akumali in a press address on Monday accused KPLC of refusing to settle the Sh4.83 debt even as he denied that the county owes the utility firm Sh3.1 billion in electricity bills.
Akumali said they have already informed Kenya Power of the amount they owe them as electricity bills and paid a part of it as their commitment to addressing pending arrears.
“Let it be very clear—KPLC owes us Sh4.8 billion,” Akumali stated.
“Several letters demanding payment—sent in 2017, 2019, and 2020—have gone unanswered. The county’s latest demand, issued on December 6, 2024, puts the outstanding amount at Sh4.83 billion.”
Akumali at the same time asked Kenya Power to sort the pending bills that they owe the county government.
He said they reconnect sewerage and water systems once Kenya Power pays the amount they owe them.
“Let them not play the victim. We’ve been without power for days because they disconnect us, yet we always pay and resolve issues. But when they owe billions, they refuse to pay or even acknowledge the debt. Let them pay, and we will reconnect their sewer and clean up,” Akumali said.
Finance CEC Charles Kerich highlighted that KPLC leases its power poles and transmission lines to internet service providers (ISPs), allowing them to run fibre-optic cables without paying wayleave fees to the county.
“KPLC now hosts optic cables and internet services. Those green and red cables on their poles? That’s the internet. They are making money, yet they refuse to pay their debt. Who are we supposed to pay ours to?” Kerich said.
In a response to Kerich's sentiments, Kenya Power in a statement quoted section 223 of the Energy Act, 2019 saying:
"No public body shall charge levies on public energy infrastructure without the consent of the cabinet secretary in writing."
But even as the standoff continues, Akumali has expressed commitment to dialogue over the matter.
