Kenya Power employees colluded with security guards and fuel tank drivers to steal over 1 million liters of diesel meant for off-grid sub-stations in Turkana County.
According to Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu, corrupt Kenya Power employees, security guards, and fuel truck drivers colluded to steal over 1.1 million liters of diesel, valued at 207.65 million shillings, which was intended for Turkana County’s off-grid power stations.
The theft took place over 26 months, from October 2021 to December 2023. This led to massive suffering in Turkana County and other places due to prolonged blackouts. Some areas could not get electricity for months, and others for over a year as a result of this theft.
Kenya operates 15 primary off-grid stations countrywide, with a total installed capacity of 27.867 megawatts (MW), to serve remote areas not connected to the national grid. These are the regions that often have challenges accessing electricity as the rest of the country.
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“An internal investigation into the alleged theft of generation fuel at off-grid stations in Turkana County conducted during the year under review revealed that between October 2021 and December 2023, a total of 1,183,583 liters of diesel valued at Sh207,653,022 could not be accounted for,” Gathungu said in her latest annual report on Kenya Power.
“Several employees, security guards, and fuel tanker drivers were found culpable.” Gathungu’s report recommended expanding the investigation to other counties with off-grid stations, noting that the same truck drivers who supplied diesel to Turkana also delivered to these other locations.
Corruption in Kenya has become so rampant that nobody no longer gets surprised. It seems everyone is stealing and looting anything that comes their way without thinking of the consequences of their actions. No action has been taken against the thieves within Kenya Power.
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