Angry Ruiru residents hold demos over 3-week power blackout

Residents living around Ruiru Prisons area on Wednesday held demonstrations to protest an electricity blackout that has lasted over three weeks.

The angry residents blocked the road from Ruiru Prisons to Wataalam area as they matched demanding the return of power to their homes and businesses. 

The residents gave Kenya Power until Thursday to restore electricity, failure to which they will hold even bigger demonstrations on Friday to air their grievances. 

"We have given Kenya Power until tomorrow 4pm to restore power, failure to which we will hold massive maandamano on Friday until we get our right to power," a landlady in the area said. 

As reported by Citizen Digital, the residents have been operating in darkness, particularly at night, since power was cut off to their homes due to a transformer failure in the area.

"It's now three weeks in the dark. Kenya Power came, saw the problem but left without solving it. We thought they would fix the faulty transformer but they left without doing anything," one of the residents said.

Their concerns were relayed to Kiambu County officials, prompting Governor Kimani Wamatangi to visit the area.

Wamatangi promised action but still, the faulty transformer is yet to be fixed fully. 

Power was restored to a few sections of the area, including the Ruiru Prisons, but a majority of the residents are in the dark.

"Running our businesses has been impossible. We have fridges and coolers, how can these things work without power? Aren't we Kenyans as well?" a trader in the area asked. 

The residents now want Kenya Power to take immediate action and restore electricity to their homes. 

They have also called on area leaders including Governor Wamatangi to intervene and reconnect electricity to their premises.