This archive report was first published on 25 July 2019.
On July 25, 2019, a group of human rights activists marched through the streets of Nairobi to protest against corruption at the state-owned Kenya Power.
Despite being met with teargas by police officers from the Central police station, the activists refused to back down and continued their march to present a petition to Parliament and the Office of the President.
"Resist thieves, resist thieves," the activists chanted as they marched, waving placards with the hashtag #SwitchOffKPLC.
The protest was led by activists Al Amin Kimathi and Wanjeri Nderu, who demanded the intervention of President Uhuru Kenyatta in cracking down on rogue officials at Kenya Power, accused of inflating power bills issued to customers.
Naomi Barasa of Amnesty-International Kenya was also present at the demonstration.
The protest came a day after Kenya Power's Acting Managing Director Jared Othieno told a parliamentary committee that 3,500 customers had colluded with officials to steal Sh35.3 million worth of prepaid tokens between January and February 2019.
"It is either the Government acts or the people of Kenya will," Kimathi cautioned.
