Token purchase affected as Kenya Power announces 'network breakdown'

Major online services in the Kenya Power Company’s systems are presently inaccessible.

The State agency announced a system failure on Thursday saying customers using the M-Pesa or USSD code are unable to purchase tokens due to what it termed as a network breakdown.

“We are experiencing a system hitch due to a network breakdown from our service provider. Consequently, some of our services such as the purchase of prepaid tokens through M-Pesa and USSD Code *977# are unavailable,” read a section of the statement.

The electricity provider instead urged its customers to access the same services from authorized banks or Airtel Money as alternatives.

“However, customers can purchase tokens from our banking halls, Airtel Money, and authorised banks,” stated Kenya Power.

The company further announced that its technical teams are working to restore normalcy.

“We are working with our service provider to restore the affected services as soon as possible. We apologise to our customers for the inconvenience caused,” added the statement.

The statement by the company comes amidst reports that the e-Citizen online platform has been hacked.

Information, Communication and the Digital Economy Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo confirmed a cyber attack on the platform, thereby crippling most government operations.

“Oh yes! To me that was not strange because cyber-attacks are predominant the world over,” Owalo told Spice FM in an interview.

“There was an attack. We are addressing that, we are not just coming up with instant remedial measures to address the current situation, we will build an elaborate risk mitigation framework."