Kipchumba Murkomen Apologises Over Power Outage At JKIA That Left Passengers Stranded: "No Excuse"

• Kenya Power said it experienced a system disturbance at 9:45pm on Friday, August 25, leading to the loss of bulk power supply to various parts
• Transport CS Kipchumba Murkomen regretted the blackout, noting there was no explanation as to why JKIA did not have a power backup
• Murkomen promised to meet with the leadership of JKIA on Saturday, August 26, and provide the way forward

Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kipchumba Murkomen has apologised to Kenyans over a nationwide blackout that hit most parts of the country, including the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Friday, August 25.

In a statement on his social media pages, the CS regretted the incident, noting there was no explanation as to why the country's busiest airport did not have a power backup.

Murkomen promised to meet with the leadership of JKIA on Saturday, August 26, and provide the way forward.

"I am really sorry for what has happened at JKIA with the blackout. There is no excuse worth reporting, and there is no reason why our airport is in darkness. I will be announcing the decision we will make tomorrow 9am at JKIA after a meeting with the leadership of the airport. Once again, I am sorry," Murkomen said.

Following the blackout, hundreds of passengers were stranded at JKIA.

During the period, Daily Nation reported immigration and baggage services were paralysed from 9:45pm to 11:50pm.

What KPLC said on nationwide blackout

Kenya Power said it experienced a system disturbance at 9:45pm leading to the loss of bulk power supply to various parts.

On Saturday, August 26, morning, KPLC confirmed it had restored electricity to the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA), Nairobi and the Mt Kenya regions. However, other parts were still affected by the power loss.

"We have successfully restored power supply to JKIA and other critical areas within the Nairobi Metropolitan. Our teams are working to restore electricity to all areas across the country that were affected by the outage. We apologise to customers for the inconvenience caused and thank them for their patience," KPLC stated.

How Kenyans reacted to KPLC blackout

On social media, Kenyans expressed their frustrations over the nationwide blackout.

Some asked the government to consider ending KPLC's monopoly and allow power producers to supply electricity directly to consumers.

Below are reactions: