Kitui residents await power connection as President Ruto pledges new electrification drive

President William Ruto, who led the national celebrations at Ithookwe Stadium, pledged that the government will connect 16,500 additional households in Kitui to the national power grid within the next three months.

Yet, across vast parts of the county, darkness still defines life after sunset.

In Imumba village, deep in Kitui East, nightfall means silence and shadows. Inside a modest, mud-walled home, Philip Komu’s children bend over their books under the dim light of a small solar lamp — its weak beam their only hope of completing homework before the battery dies.

“If I can’t pay for the solar light, we stay in total darkness. The children can’t read and life stops,”
says Komu, a resident of Imumba village, referring to the daily pay-as-you-go solar system his family depends on.

“We’ve never had electricity since independence,”
laments Samuel Kilonzo, a local trader.
“When there’s no sun, we can’t even charge our phones. Everything stops.”

But just a few kilometers away, in Nditime Market, the contrast is striking. Overhead power lines stretch across the dusty horizon, symbolizing new beginnings.

“We got electricity about three years ago, and it has changed our lives,”
says Paul Komu, a trader in Nditime.
“Our businesses run late into the night, and our children can study after dark.”

Still, even those connected to the grid voice frustration over high power costs.

“If you buy four units, two go to KPLC and only two are yours,”
Komu notes, highlighting the burden of rising electricity tariffs.

“We must recognize that energy is fundamental to development — for households, small industries, and security,”
said Richard Mwendandu, Kitui County’s Energy Minister.

“We have a major plan to supply electricity here in Kitui,”
the President said.
“Through your leaders, I know many homes are yet to be connected. The government has allocated funds to connect 16,500 new households between now and February next year.”