Jack Shaka, AfricaNews reporter in Nairobi, Kenya
A power blackout in Kenya on Sunday evening left almost all major towns and cities in Kenya in total darkness. Most affected were Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru, Eldoret among others.
The blackout that started at 6.30pm left many city dwellers stranded and others had to head home early. The blackout affected night businesses especially at drinking bars and restaurants.
Similar incident happened 25th May 2008 and it took the engineers and the technical team of Kenya Power and Lighting Corporation (KPLC) five hours to have the electricity back.
“I have to pick my children from my sister's place - and take them home - how can we walk in the dark?” asked John Onyango.
Many residents heading home were scared for their lives citing insecurity as their major concern.
KPLC MD Joseph Njoroge said the outage was caused by a technical hitch that caused an overload on the supply line at the Aggreko power station in Embakasi-Nairobi. After five hours the power was restored at about 11.10 pm.
“They should try and react faster to things like these otherwise a country can fall to its knees,” said Miriam Kamau as she hurried home.
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