Nairobi govt trucks block Stima Plaza over Sh608m debt

The Nairobi City County government blocked the entrance to Kenya Power’s Stima Plaza headquarters for hours over a Sh608 million debt.

County officials on Monday took over the building and barred the main gates using trucks, as they demanded payment for the debt.

The move to “clamp” the building was prompted by Kenya Power's decision to disconnect power last week to City Hall over unpaid power bills.

Speaking to journalists, Mr Maurice Okere, the head of Nairobi County's treasury, said the company owed City Hall the money, which had accrued since 2002.

“This money has been accumulated since 2002 and we have been sending them letters to pay us but they have refused to pay,” said Mr Okere.

Mr Okere said Kenya Power had refused to offset more than Sh100 million City Hall still owed to the company after paying Sh300 million.

He said City Hall had been faithfully paying its debt to Kenya Power, but the electricity distributor had refused to pay what it owed the county.

The county has been paying Sh25 million monthly to Kenya Power for electricity, he said.

“We have many companies as defaulters and we will clamp them until they have paid us,” said Mr Okere.

He added that the company should be paying promptly as it is quick to disconnect electricity to those who owe them.

City Hall said it had notified Kenya Power of an impending crackdown prior to the operation, asking the company to honour its payment obligations to avoid being inconvenienced.

According to the Rating Act, occupants or tenants of a clamped property are required to pay rent to the county until it recovers the outstanding debt.