Kenyan businesses suffer massive losses as country plunges into darkness

By Monica MUEMA

East Africa’s largest economy was plunged into unprecedented darkness for several hours Friday and Saturday with most parts of the country still experiencing internment power failures.

As a result, tens of thousands of small businesses, homes, and manufacturers suffered huge losses as businesses shut, and refrigerators went off due to the national power outage.

Big businesses, particularly manufacturers, had to switch on their diesel generators to continue with their production processes and salvage raw materials that could easily go to waste when the production processes are halted midway.

Several parts of Kenya were in darkness at 9:45 p.m. (0645 UTC/GMT) on Friday, Kenya Power, an electricity distribution company said in a statement. It blamed the blackout on “a system disturbance leading to the loss of bulk power supply.”

“We apologize to our customers for the inconvenience caused and we assure them that our technical teams are currently working to identify the root cause and restore power to the affected areas. An update on the restoration progress will be provided as soon as possible,” the country’s sole electricity supplier Kenya Power said.

The blackout was reported in most counties including Nairobi, Nyamira, Kajiado, Kakamega, Siaya, Kiambu and Meru.
The darkness caused a crisis at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport with activities such as luggage handling becoming completely incapacitated.

Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen was forced to apologize to the country on Friday after passengers at the main airport in Nairobi — one of the most important hubs on the continent — were left without power, amid a widespread electricity blackout.

“I’m really sorry for what has happened at the [Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA)] with the blackout,” Murkomen said on X, in a rare public apology by a government official.

“There is no excuse worth reporting and there is no reason why our airport is in darkness.”

While energy failure and blackouts are common in Kenya, a key airport has not faced a power outage before.

The latest blackout comes weeks before the government hosts the first Africa Climate Summit, where energy is slated to be a key talking point.
Kenya gets nearly all of its energy from renewable sources but its electricity grid has been hampered by alleged mismanagement and infrastructure issues.