Nairobi — The government has come under scrutiny after allegedly including a non-existent company in a list of power projects in Marsabit County submitted to Gitson Energy Ltd.
In a letter to the State Department for Energy Principal Secretary, law firm W. Thuku and Associates -- acting for Gitson Energy -- claimed that one of the listed entities, Kenya Mudhe, did not exist as of the date required by a High Court order.
According to the firm, Kenya Mudhe was incorporated on September 12, 2022, contrary to the court directive requiring the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum to provide a list of all power projects existing as of December 31, 2021.
"The CR12 indicates that the company was incorporated on 12th September 2022. Please note that change of name of a company does not change the date of registration. Hence, it is apparent that there is a question of the accuracy of this particular information," the letter reads.
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The ministry had been directed to release the list following a successful appeal by Gitson Energy, a Kenyan diaspora firm, seeking transparency over energy investments in Marsabit County.
The order followed a meeting convened by the Commission on Administrative Justice (CAJ) on March 28, 2024, which brought together representatives from Gitson Energy, the State Department for Energy, and the Office of the Attorney General.
Among the listed projects are the 310MW Lake Turkana Wind Farm, which is operational under private ownership, and KenGen's 300MW Marsabit Wind Project, still under feasibility studies.
Also listed are Gitson Energy's 300MW Bubisa Wind Project, which remains under contention, and the Kenya Mudhe Wind Power Project Bubisa, whose inclusion has sparked the current dispute.
Other projects include Ignite Global International Wind Power and Sosain Energy Wind Power, both 50MW ventures under the Feed-in Tariff (FiT) programme, awaiting approval.