Kenya Power on the Spot Over Sh274M Paid to ‘Absent’ Consultant

Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) is under intense scrutiny following revelations from the Auditor General’s report that the utility firm paid Sh274 million to a consultant whose presence at a last-mile connectivity project sites could not be verified.

The findings, presented to a parliamentary oversight committee, have sparked outrage among lawmakers who are now demanding the recovery of the funds and stricter accountability measures to curb financial mismanagement.

The Auditor General, Nancy Gathungu, flagged the payments due to missing documentation, including attendance records and meeting minutes, which are critical to confirming the consultant’s participation in the projects.

The report raises serious concerns about whether the consultant, hired in November 2017, fulfilled their contractual obligations, prompting allegations of potential fraud or gross oversight lapses at KPLC.

In a heated session with the oversight committee, Kenya Power’s Managing Director, Joseph Siror, defended the payments, arguing that the consultancy work was milestone-based rather than requiring continuous on-site presence.

“The consultant supervises multiple sites per lot, which cuts across several counties,” Siror explained.

He further clarified that the consultant worked alongside KPLC engineers, who were assigned to the audit team, while the consultant focused on supervising ongoing project sites.

However, this explanation failed to satisfy lawmakers, who pointed to the absence of critical records as evidence of weak governance.

An officer from the Office of the Auditor General (OAG) emphasized the importance of documentation, stating, “the available minutes tell whether the consultant personnel were present at those sites. Minutes help us get the details.”

The lack of such records has fueled suspicions that the consultant may not have been actively involved in the projects, despite receiving substantial payments.

Kenya Power, in its defense, maintained that the consultant was a single firm tasked with deploying monitors, and all inspections were conducted by a joint team comprising KPLC engineers and the consultant.

“No job is paid for without the team’s approval,” the company asserted.

However, the oversight committee remained unconvinced, directing KPLC to recover the Sh274 million if investigations confirm the consultant’s absence from project sites.

The audit also uncovered broader issues at KPLC, including missing feasibility studies, surveys, progress reports, technical specifications, and bills of quantities—documents essential for transparent procurement and project management.

These gaps point to systemic weaknesses in oversight and record-keeping, which lawmakers argue have contributed to financial losses and inefficiencies at the utility firm.

The controversy has reignited public and parliamentary demands for accountability at KPLC, a state-owned entity critical to Kenya’s energy sector.

Commentators on social media have expressed frustration, with one user, identified as “jambo,” lamenting, “this country has such a huge problem. Not a single report Nancy comes up with does identify utter misuse, sorry, stealing of public funds… and this sort of corruption takes place in nearly all institutions.”

As investigations continue, the parliamentary committee has vowed to enforce transparency and protect public funds from misuse.