Kenya Power: City Hall's actions were criminal, calculated to evade paying electricity arrears

The Kenya Power and Lightning Company (KPLC) has petitioned the High Court to order the Nairobi City County Government to pay its electricity bills and at the same time issue an injunction permanently prohibiting them from dumping toxic and hazardous waste outside any of its premises.

KPLC also wants the county barred from parking its garbage trucks or vehicles at the entrance of the electricity vendor's offices obstructing movement into and out of the company's offices.

County personnel on Tuesday a heap of garbage was offloaded outside the KPLC's head offices at Stima Plaza in Nairobi rendering the offices inaccessible.

The county government had also cut off the water supply to the KPLC office and jammed sewer systems to the Stima Plaza and the company says untreated waste was dumped outside its offices.

This followed a protracted battle over unpaid electricity bills and the KPLC wants the county to clear any garbage and waste from the offices.

The KPLC also wants the High Court to order the county to unconditionally release the company's 10 emergency service vehicles impounded by the county government employees and others clamped.

"A permanent injunction restraining the (NCCG) servants, agents and any other person acting on their (NCCG's) instructions from clamping and or towing away any motor vehicles owned by the petitioner (KPLC)," reads some of the reliefs sought by the company.

The KPLC asked the High Court to issue orders stopping the NCCG staffers by themselves or through their officers, servants, agents or employees and any other persons from harassing, threatening, impounding, disconnecting water and sewer services, dumping waste and in any other manner whatsoever at the premises.

Loss of business

The company says the actions of the county government affected the over 4,000 KPLC staff and innocent tenants which include medical clinics, financial institutions, law firms, insurance agencies and other Small and Medium Enterprises and members of the public have continued to suffer tremendous frustrations, inconvenience and loss of business due to the stench from the dumped garbage and blocked sewers.

"The actions of the county government are ill-motivated, cruel, criminal, barbaric, unethical and calculated to avoid payment of the outstanding electricity bills as well as to arm-twist the KPLC to stop its statutory duty of collecting revenue from the NCCG or enter into negotiations to avert the collection of duly consumed electricity debts due from the NCCG contrary to the prevailing laws and terms of supply of electricity to the County government," KPLC says.

"The (NCCG's) actions which are extremely inhumane, have adversely exposed over 4,000 KPLC members of staff and the innocent tenants accommodated at the KPLC's premises as well as the general public to detrimental health complications."

The company also sought the court's help in stopping the county government employees from interfering with the lawful possession of its (KPLC's) motorcycles or any other property or infrastructure belonging to KPLC and interfering with the business and operations of the electricity distributor.

KPLC also wants the high court to declare that the NCCG's actions of disconnecting the water supply to the KPLC offices and places of business have threatened and violated the rights of all occupants of the said premises contrary to Article 43 (1) (d) of the constitution.

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• Kenya Power: City Hall's actions were criminal
• calculated to evade paying electricity arrears

"A declaration that the (NCCG's) dumping garbage around the Stima Plaza building at Parklands has threatened and violated the rights and fundamental; freedoms of the KPLC and all the occupants of the said building and the community around, contrary to provisions of section 42 of the constitution," the KPLC seeks in the suit.