This archive report was first published on 19 August 2021.
On July 3, 2015, Kenya Power personnel were seen working in Tetu, Nyeri.
Nine years earlier, a fire broke out in Lawina Company Limited's pasture, consuming 86 acres of Rhodes grass. The High Court has since ordered Kenya Power to pay Sh13,527,000 as compensation for the loss.
According to the court judgment, the fire was caused by a high-voltage power supply cable installed by Kenya Power. The cable fell, sparking a fire that destroyed the pasture and other property worth Sh21,172,600.
Lawina Company Limited had sued Kenya Power, claiming negligence in handling the electricity transmission cables. The company argued that the destroyed pasture could have been harvested for three years between 2012 and 2014.
Kenya Power, however, denied all the allegations, stating that it had no statutory duty to make compensation to Lawina for loss or damage of any electric supply line or by reason of any defect in the transmission line.
Justice Roseline Lagat-Korir, however, found that Kenya Power bore a duty of care towards Lawina Company, which suffered a loss as a result of the omission of that duty by the power company. Both fires were attributed to KPLC's negligence.
