Six villages in Marakwet East Constituency, Elgeyo Marakwet County are in darkness after Kenya Power disconnected them from the national grid due to illegal connections.
The villages include; Barberi, Kabaldamet, Chebilil, Endoo, Sangach and Sambalat.
Confirming the incident, Kenya Power Regional Manager Winnie Tarus said the villages will remain without power until the matter is resolved.
“We are realising that a big number of customers have been connected directly, more than 80%. So we are losing on our revenue, we are endangering the transformers and the citizens,” Tarus said.
According to Tarus, preliminary investigations have revealed that residents of the said villages were connected with power illegally since 2019.
“So we have talked with local leadership and we will hold barazas with the locals from tomorrow to Saturday to educate the citizens on the dangers of this vice,” she added.
Residents are now fearing that the situation will worsen the already dire insecurity in the region.
“Kuna wakati tulileletewa stima tukiambiwa ni watu wa Kenya Power. Sasa watu wa Kenya Power wamekuja wakisema hao watu ni wa bandia. Tunaomba msamaha kama tulikosa na tunawaomba waturudishie stima,” one of the aggrieved residents said.
