KPLC car to be auctioned for failing to pay don Sh2.1m in blackout case

Kenya Power Company offices in Nairobi. [Fiel, Standard]

Kenya Power Company (KPLC) has lost the bid to salvage its vehicle from auction after failing to pay Prof Moni Wekesa Sh2.1 million in blackout case.

Auctioneers confiscated KPLC ‘s Toyota D-Max on October 11, 2024, following court orders that it pays Wekesa Sh 2.1 million for the cost of the case he filed in 2021 after it disconnected his power, leaving him in darkness for days.

KPLC first filed a fresh application to stop the auction before the High Court. However, Justice Stephen Mbungi found that the application was not urgent. Instead, he ordered that the power utility firm serves the don with the court papers and appear before him on October 22 for a hearing.

When KPLC did not get the orders, it filed another application before the Court of Appeal seeking the same orders. However, that court ordered that KPLC serves Prof Wekesa and exchange replies and submissions. The Judge said they would be notified of the hearing date per the court’s diary.

In a letter to the Court of Appeal, Wekesa accused KPLC of forum shopping. He argued that both courts are likely to issue conflicting orders in the two applications.

“What would happen for example, if the Court of Appeal were to deny the stay and a few hours later the High grants the stay? Which orders would the respondent be obliged to follow? Or what if the High Court denied the stay and the Court of Appeal granted – when it is not an appeal from the ruling of the High Court?” Posed Prof. Wekesa.

In the case, the don narrated that he owns a home in Navakholo sub-county, Kakamega county, and is a KPLC customer.

He told the court that between January and November 2021, he spent less than three days at home with his family due to the Covid-19 restrictions.

The don said KPLC sent him Sh14,356 electricity bill and another Sh3,606 within 24 hours.

Wekesa said his complaint to the power utility firm, fell on deaf ears. His bill issue was not resolved.

On November 2, 2021, he said that KPLC again sent him Sh22,151 bill. The lecturer raised another complaint and pleaded for non-disconnection as the issue was being resolved.

He narrated that Kenya Power employees speedily disconnected the supply nine days later.

Aggrieved, Wekesa filed a complaint with the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), seeking power restoration. EPRA sent the complaint to KPLC.

Wekesa argued that the disconnection of power exposed his property to thieves.

He asserted that KPLC’s behavior denied him the right to dignity and exposed him to his relatives and neighbors as a person who could not afford electricity bills.

Wekesa also claimed that he was treated to psychological anguish and exposed to fear of attack by wild animals and mischievous individuals.

He argued that KPLC denied him use of basic modern amenities such as a fridge, freezer, and microwave. He also argued that he was denied freedom of expression because he could not access the Internet or interact with the world without electricity.

Wekesa said that, as a lecturer, he was denied the right to exercise artistic creativity and academic activities, including scientific research, as his mobile phone and laptop could not be charged.

The don argued that Kenya Power also violated his economic interests by levying exorbitant, sporadic, and unfortunate bills, which led to the denial of electric power supply.
The lecturer asked the court to order KPLC and EPRA to pay him Sh5 million for violating his rights.

When the case was mentioned on May 12 to report on settlement progress, Wekesa and KPLC told the court they had not resolved the matter.

Kenya Power asked the court to strike out the case. It argued that the court had no power to entertain it and Wekesa had not exhausted all the dispute resolution channels.

In his reply, the don said KPLC does not have a dispute resolution mechanism in place, so he could not be faulted for approaching the court.