This archive report was first published on 15 December 2019.
Kenya Power engineers have been working to fix a transformer at Myanyatta estate in Kisumu county, which is believed to have electrocuted two cows. However, the real concern lies in the home of Milka Ogega, where a high-voltage transformer installed in 2013 has been a source of danger for her family.
According to Ogega, Kenya Power started installing the transformer inside her compound in April 2013, while she was away. When she returned, she found the company had dug two huge holes in her compound and installed the transformer despite her opposition.
Ogega has been living in fear for seven years, and her pleas to Kenya Power to relocate the transformer have fallen on deaf ears. In letters to the company, seen by the Sunday Standard, she complained that the transformer had been bursting into flames every other time since it was mounted.
“The death of the bulls belonging to my neighbour is not the first incident. This transformer poses a serious danger to my family,” Ogega said.
85-year-old Jekonia Were, the owner of the electrocuted bulls, expressed his shock and loss, saying, “The matter was reported to Kondele police station. The two bulls are all I had, now I’m left with nothing.”
Kenya Power has confirmed receiving the report of the electrocution and has launched an investigation to find out if the transformer was installed at a home without the owner’s consent.
