West Pokot leaders to sue KENGEN over compensation

West Pokot leaders have threatened to sue the Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KENGEN) over compensation to residents who were displaced during by construction of the Turkwel Hydropower Plant.

Led by Kapenguria Member of Parliament Samuel Moroto, the leaders lamented that the company has never compensated locals who were displaced during the plant’s construction in the 1980s.

Speaking at Tipet in Endough Ward, the leaders complained that the company has never initiated any project in the region despite making millions of shillings through the power plant.

The legislator stated that they would compel the Company to start Corporate Social responsibility projects to uplift the lives of the locals who were affected by the project.

He added that he would also table a motion in Parliament over the company’s failure to compensate locals in the region.

Moroto observed that residents have suffered due to hazards posed by the power plant where many have been bitten by crocodiles and affected by malaria.

He called on the company to help improve infrastructure in the area for development to be realised.

The Turkwel Power Station is one of the major hydroelectric power stations in Kenya and is situated at Turkwel, West Pokot County and generates approximately 10 per cent of the nation’s electricity.

The Station has the capacity to generate 106MW and is connected to the national grid at Lessos sub-station on a 220KV transmission line over a distance of 230 kilometres.