Power outages in Kenya and intervention in a coup and the government apologizes
Much of Kenya woke up Saturday morning to find it was still without power after an unexplained power outage Friday night shut down the country's main international airport and led to a rare public apology by a government minister. Major hospitals and even the president's office complex were affected.
"I am truly sorry for what happened," Transport Minister Kipchumba Morkumen said in a statement near midnight. "There is no excuse worth reporting, and there is no reason why our airport should be in complete darkness."
This latest outage affecting much of the country comes just weeks before the government of Kenya hosts the first Africa Climate Summit, where energy will be a key item on the agenda. Kenya gets almost all of its energy from renewable sources, but infrastructure and alleged mismanagement remain an issue in the country of more than 50 million people.
And Kenya Power, which is majority owned by the government, announced in a brief statement that there was a "disruption in the system that led to the interruption of wholesale power supplies" in parts of the country shortly before 10 pm. Friday. Shortly after midnight, power was reported to be back in Mount Kenya, which has long been a political stronghold, and said initial reports indicated a malfunction at the power plant.
At around 3am, Kenya Power said power was restored to the international airport in the capital, Nairobi, and other "vital areas" in the metropolitan area.
However, three of Nairobi's largest hospitals — whose government headquarters is where President William Ruto's office is located — told The Associated Press they were still using generators, hours after Kenya Power confirmed.
The outage approached the 12-hour mark on Saturday. No calls were made to Kenya Power's communications department.
Tourism is an important part of Kenya's economy, and soon stranded travelers were posting pictures on social media of the darkened airport. The Kenya Airports Authority said a generator serving the main station failed to operate after a nationwide power outage.
Meanwhile, Kenyans already struggling with the high cost of living have woken up to find food is rancid and some backup power options are running out.
The last nationwide power outage was in May.