Energy CS embarrassed by JKIA blackout, calls for investigation
The Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, Davis Chirchir, found himself directly impacted by a power blackout at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Sunday, December 10, evening, an incident he deemed an embarrassment to the nation.
Speaking to the media on Monday, December 11, during a briefing on the nationwide blackout, Chirchir shared his personal experience of the outage.
“I was at the airport when the belt stopped, and we could not get our luggage. It is a challenge that, as a country, we are really ashamed of and we need to address it,” expressed Chirchir.
The JKIA blackout marks the third such incident under the tenure of Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who has come under public scrutiny.
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Chirchir attributed the blackout to the high demand for electricity, highlighting that the limited supply lines had not been adequately maintained for the past six years.
Meanwhile, CS Murkomen, in response to the recurring power disruptions, has called for a thorough investigation into what he suspects might be acts of sabotage within JKIA.
“Considering the frequency of the power disruption and taking into account the fact that JKIA is a facility of strategic national importance, we are making a formal request to the National Police Service to investigate possible acts of sabotage and cover-up,” stated CS Murkomen in a statement shared on the X platform.
Expressing condemnation for the situation that left passengers stranded for hours, CS Murkomen emphasised that the ongoing efforts to clean up the airport and streamline services would not be deterred by individuals suspected of sabotage.
“In the meantime, the cleanup of the mess at JKIA continues. The KAA Board is under strict instructions to carry on with the reform agenda, and the management to implement, as directed, the report of the technical committee which I recently constituted.”
Following the second blackout incident at the airport, CS Murkomen took decisive action by establishing a committee to probe challenges affecting all airports and airstrips in the country.
The recommendations of the committee, however, remain undisclosed at this time.