This archive report was first published on 25 July 2019.
On July 25, 2019, Kenya Power's internal investigations revealed that 13 staff members had fraudulently generated electricity tokens and sold them to unsuspecting customers through third-party agents.
Despite this, the utility company has taken the easy route of punishing the victims, forcing about 3,500 customers to sign documents committing to pay back part, if not all of the Sh35.3 million said to have been lost in the fraud.
Some customers have also been made to report to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), a move that has been met with criticism.
As observed by the Senate Committee on energy, Kenya Power cannot claim to have been innocent in a case where its staff went out and sold the fraudulent tokens.
The utility firm is bound by whatever its employees do, and it is the responsibility of the management to ensure that proper internal controls are in place to prevent such incidents.
Instead of taking responsibility for failure to build proper internal controls, Kenya Power has found a scapegoat in the customer, a clear monopolistic mindset that assumes the market will take whatever is presented on the table because there is no alternative.
The Senate Energy Committee must not relent in calling for justice for the innocent Kenya Power customers, and the utility company should be made to reimburse token buyers whose cash it has been deducting.
