Standard Correspondent
13 April 2004
Nairobi — Hundreds of Kangundo residents and leaders yesterday staged a demonstration to protest a power blackout. The area has not had electricity for the last five days.
Led by the MP Moffat Maitha and civic leaders, they accused the Kenya Power and Lighting Company of providing shoddy services.
Traders in Tala and Kangundo towns shut their businesses to take part in the two-hour march.
Representatives from the jua kali sector said the frequent power cuts threatened to cripple their trade.
Maitha, who later addressed the protesters, said the KPLC did not warn them of the intended power cuts in the media as expected, thus inconveniencing users.
He said he would demand a ministerial statement in Parliament over the frequent blackouts.
Businessmen in Garissa have, meanwhile, asked the power company to compensate them for losses incurred during frequent and sudden power outages in town.
The businessmen threatened to sue KPLC for more than Sh20 million for losses and damages caused by the blackouts.
In a statement read on their behalf by councillor Osman Mahat, the traders said some of them had shut down after electric equipment in their premises blew up due to the fluctuating power supply.
He said the blackouts had crippled operations in all cyber cafes and premises stocking perishable goods including butcheries, supermarkets and hotels since most of their computers and cooling systems broke down during the power interruptins.
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