Traders feel the heat as Sakaja, Kenya Power standoff persists

Traders at Wakulima Market in Nairobi on July 15, 2026. [Kanyiri Wahito, Standard]

For about a week now, Wakulima Market, the largest store for fresh produce in Nairobi, has been without power in a move that has left traders counting losses running to millions daily.

The traders say power supply in the market was disconnected owing to the ongoing standoff between Nairobi County and Kenya Power over a bill said to be over 3 billion shillings.

Owing to this, some traders have also reported rising cases of criminal activities, including mobile phone snatching, mugging and some goods going missing in the market.

On Wednesday, traders issued a three-day ultimatum to Governor Johnson Sakaja to sort out the matter lest they march to City Hall with rotten produce.

"If he does not sort out the matter by Friday, they will march to his office with rotten produce to show him how we are suffering losses," said Agnes Wambua, a trader at Wakulima Market.

They say the county has neglected them at the time of need.

''We have been without power for the second week now and it has affected our businesses. The lorries that bring supplies to the market are supposed to offload from 3 am," Mbithi Mwangi, the market treasurer, told The Standard.

"This is no longer the case, the Market is dark at that time. This has also caused congestion in the market because supplying nearby markets starts very late," he added.

The traders said it is worrying that the county has been unable to pay the power bills since they pay daily taxes without fail, stating that lorries that check in the market pay between Sh3000 to Sh14,000 to the county and small traders pay Sh50 daily.

"I have been in the market for more than 30 years and we have never experienced something like this before. We usually arrive in the market from as early as 2 am and by 8 am we are done," Dedan Murugane, another trader said.

"It is embarrassing that the county cannot pay the electricity bills yet we pay taxes without fail, Sakaja should even think of installing solar panels if he cannot afford to pay Kenya Power," he added.

The power supply was first disconnected at City Hall Annex and other key offices in early July due to about Sh3 billion bill that has been accumulating for many years.

At City Hall, some services, including licensing of businesses, were delayed as traders flocked to some offices seeking for some services until on Wednesday.

For weeks, some offices at City Hall have been relying on generators that don't run the whole day owing to high fuel cost in a move that has forced some staff to spend about five hours in the offices before they are switched off until the following day.

"The most affected is City Hall Annex because the generators are switched from 9 pm to around 2 pm in some areas, yet we are supposed to work for about eight hours and serve Nairobi residents, but it is no longer the case," a staff said.

Kenya Power accuses Nairobi County of failing to honour the agreement that was reached last year.

Last year's spat resulted in an ugly ending after the Sakaja administration deposited garbage outside Stima Plaza before an agreement was reached.

The move, which included blocking of sewer lines and water services at the Kenya Power building, elicited uproar among Kenyans on how the matter was handled obnoxiously.

"It is true that we disconnected City Hall because the county has not honoured the agreement that was established in 2024," a Kenya Power official told The Standard.

"Unlike other counties, we struggle a lot when it comes to power bills. They don't pay anything at all," he added.

Following the tussle about the power bills last year, the National Assembly Committee on Energy stepped in to address but it appears that a long-term solution is yet to be found.

At the time, City Hall accused Kenya Power of refusing to pay Sh4.8 billion for wayleave fees, stating that the utility company was profiting from public infrastructure while refusing to settle its obligations.

However, some officials at City Hall blamed the failure to pay power bills on the absence of a substantive CECM for Finance since Charles Kerich was convicted of contempt of court.

Governor Sakaja reportedly also delayed submitting the names of acting CECM to the Central of Bank, resulting in a cash crunch at City Hall.