Hundreds of small businesses and homes in Ruaka's Joyland area have been without power since Monday, Capital FM reported on Friday. Traders say they cannot work. Some apartments have no water because their pumps run on electricity.
Residents told Capital News that a faulty transformer serving Joyland caused the outage. They say they have called Kenya Power repeatedly, but no one has come to fix it. The complaint is logged under reference number 16453483.
John, a barber in the area, said Kenya Power keeps promising to come. According to him, the utility's staff say "they need to be facilitated to come." He added that traders cannot earn a living without power.
Elizabeth, a salon owner, said the utility's staff do not come when residents call. She accused them of wanting payment before they restore electricity. Her business is struggling, she said, and she has children at home.
Residents say officials told them the fault had been booked for repair within a week. They question that timeline, especially after the alleged requests for payment.
In an automated reply, Kenya Power acknowledged that the area had been without power since Monday and apologised. Its virtual assistant said the report was still pending and directed residents to its customer line, 97771. It also warned residents not to pay anyone who offers to fix the outage and to report any such request.
Residents want Kenya Power to repair the transformer urgently, explain the delay and give a firm date for restoring power. Kenya Power had not given a substantive response by the time Capital FM published its report.