This archive report was first published on 14 December 2019.
On December 17, 2011, a five-year-old boy was electrocuted by a live wire hanging loosely outside their rented house in Kayole estate, Mihango, Nairobi County. The accident left him with serious injuries, including the amputation of his right upper limb and burns on the abdomen.
The minor, who was playing with friends on the balcony of the third-floor house, came into contact with high-voltage electric power pylons. His mother sued Kenya Power and the landlord, Joseph Wang'ethe, claiming special and general damages for the injuries sustained.
High Court Judge Roselyne Ekirapa Aburili ruled in favour of the minor in November 2015, awarding him Sh9,349,660. However, Kenya Power and the landlord lodged an appeal, arguing that the minor was negligent in touching the electricity lines and that the amount awarded was too high.
On December 14, 2019, the Court of Appeal dismissed the appeals filed by Kenya Power and the landlord, ruling that they lacked merit. The appellate judges, Hannah Okwengu, Fatuma Sichale, and Sankale ole Kantai, found that the accident was caused by the negligence of both Kenya Power and the landlord.
"We come to the conclusion that the accident was caused by the negligence of both appellants: the second appellant (the landlord) in allowing his building to extend and infringe on the way leave, and the first appellant (KPLC) in failing to take action on the infringement and ensure that the high voltage electric cables did not pose any danger," stated the judges.
The Court of Appeal noted that Kenya Power had a higher responsibility of supplying and maintaining high voltage electric cables, and ensuring that the high voltage electric cables did not pose any danger. "Had the first appellant (KPLC) properly carried out this responsibility, no high voltage electric cables would have been allowed to remain near the building," ruled the appellate judges.
