Residents of Sagegi in Suna East, Migori County, are up in arms over a three-month-long power outage that has crippled businesses, worsened insecurity, and disrupted access to clean water.
The prolonged blackout, which locals attribute to a faulty transformer that Kenya Power repossessed, has left the community in darkness and frustration. Despite repeated appeals to the state utility company, residents claim no action has been taken to restore power in the area.
One local businessman, Ben Abok, said the outage has had devastating effects on livelihoods. “Many businesses here depend on electricity. Barbershops, welding shops, salons, and retail outlets that rely on refrigeration have been forced to shut down. People are losing income daily,” he lamented.
Beyond economic setbacks, the power crisis has also created a social emergency. Residents say they can no longer access clean water because borehole machines cannot pump without electricity. “We used to rely on the borehole for safe drinking water. Now, people are forced to fetch water from rivers and other unsafe sources, exposing us to waterborne diseases,” Abok added.
The situation has also heightened insecurity in the area. Locals report that cases of theft and burglary have risen sharply since the blackout began, with criminal gangs taking advantage of the darkness. “When the streets are dark, it’s easy for thieves to break into homes and shops. We feel unsafe at night,” one resident said.
The community is now calling on Kenya Power to urgently replace the faulty transformer and restore normalcy. They argue that continued neglect not only undermines local businesses but also endangers lives.
“We pay for electricity like everyone else in the country. It is unfair to subject us to three months of blackout without communication or a solution,” a resident complained.
The residents’ appeal comes amid wider concerns in parts of rural Kenya about slow response times from the utility when transformers break down. For Sagegi, the message is clear: they want Kenya Power to act swiftly and end the suffering caused by the outage.
