Living in the dark: Muhuru Bay’s struggle with weeks-long blackouts

Residents of Muhuru Bay, a lakeside town in Nyatike, Migori County, are living in frustration following persistent electricity blackouts.

Muhuru Bay is home to over 50,000 people; constituting dozens of Suba speaking clans. The area has rich and unexploited sandy beaches, cascading rocks, expansive lake, hills and historical caves. 

It just recently benefited from the Kenya's Last Mile Connectivity Programme (LMCP), a government initiative implemented by Kenya Power (KPLC) and REREC, meant to achieve universal electricity access in rural and peri-urban areas.

However, according to locals, the joy of finally 'getting power' has quickly turned into pain due to constant blackouts. Many villages in Muhuru are yet to be connected.

According to locals, the constant blackouts often leave businesses, schools, churches, police stations and homes in darkness for days and even weeks.

The often unstable and grossly unreliable electricity supply has disrupted daily life, and has led to insecurity especially at night.

Speaking to Wananchi Reporting, fish trader James Odhiambo said the blackouts have affected his business.

“People here go for days without electricity. Fish is spoilt leading to financial losses. This is affecting our livelihoods,” said Odhiambo.

A local teacher at a boarding school said students cannot study at night with schools now forced to rely on costly alternatives such as generators.

“Our school is already considering switching to solar power. It’s concerning that the town is always in darkness, and with no communication on when power will return,”  lamented the teacher.

Clan elder Salim Mukinga Nyochol said the constant blackouts have also increased cases of theft in the villages, with criminals taking advantage of the darkness.

“As village elder, I am appealing to the power company and the government to urgently address this problem,” he said – noting that the border town has been forgotten. 

Recently, President William Ruto visited the town where he initiated the construction of a pier – and works are currently ongoing. However – residents feel that all this is useless without a tarmac road and electricity to support growth.

The residents are now calling on Kenya Power to move with speed and find a lasting solution to the frequent outages, saying the situation has continued for years without improvement.