Nairobi’s Digital Showdown: Kenya Power and City County Bury the Hatchet
Nairobi County and Kenya Power resolve dispute after fibre optic destruction disrupted Internet, following government intervention urging cooperation and legal compliance.
The Nairobi City County and Kenya Power have reached a truce to amicably resolve recent squables which escalated into retaliatory acts that saw the destruction of fibre optic cables, affecting Internet services within parts of Nairobi.
The resolution came after a meeting convened by the Head of Public Service Felix Koskei and attended by the Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi on Wednesday.
After the meeting, Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja announced that the two entities had reached an understanding to resolve their hostilities amicably, promising to restore water supply and remove garbage trucks that had been dumped at the Kenya Power offices earlier in the week.
The wars between the institutions reached their climax on Tuesday, with reports that the City County had descended on fibre optic cables laid on the Kenya Power lines, cutting Internet supply to various parts of Nairobi.
Following the incident, the Communications Authority of Kenya (CA) on Tuesday issued a terse statement, warning that such an action was in contravention to the law and called on the two institutions to seek speedy resolution to the issue.
We urge all parties to exercise restraint, observe and respect public interest as they work towards an amicable solution. Any unlawful, unilateral action that undermines connectivity should cease forthwith.
– Mr. David Mugonyi, Director General, CA in a press release
The Technology Service Providers of Kenya (TESPOK) strongly condemned the incident, which it said had not only occasioned its members losses worth millions of shillings while denying consumers vital services but also claws back on the government’s digital transformation agenda.
It is shocking that this conflict has been allowed to escalate to this extent, with no regard to the far-reaching consequences on Kenyan citizens and the economy.
– TESPOK in a Statement to the Media.
According to TESPOK, much of the affected fibre optic cable infrastructure was along Argwings Kodhek Road, in Nairobi.
