Editor's Review

“In August the CS for Transport Murkomen went to JKIA fired individuals and told the country that generators had been fixed but yesterday it was a disaster."

Nandi Senator Samson Cheraragei now wants Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen to issue an apology to Kenyans over a power outage at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) on Sunday night.

Speaking on Monday, December 11, Cherargei accused CS Murkomen of lying to Kenyans that generators at JKIA had been fixed.

“In August the CS for Transport Murkomen went to JKIA fired individuals and told the country that generators had been fixed but yesterday it was a disaster. How can you lose electricity and generators at a critical national asset like JKIA, I think the Minister must apologise to the country for lying to Kenyans that the generators were working yet he knew very well they were not it is an embarrassment,” the Nandi senator stated.

Senator Cherargei pointed out that JKIA is a critical national asset that should not lose power at all.

“This is a critical national strategic asset of national security importance that should not lose electricity even for ten seconds, you can imagine the planes that were supposed to land therefore he must apologise to Kenyans,” he added.

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Blackout at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport on Sunday, December 10, 2023.

The UDA senator further mocked Murkomen for forming a committee to probe leaking looks at JKIA saying he should not form another committee to investigate why generators failed to work at the airport.

Murkomen in a statement on Sunday night noted that some generators powering terminals 1A and 1E failed to start immediately despite having been acquired recently.

He disclosed that the Kenya Airports Authority (KAA) had done proper testing before installing them.

The Transport CS also made a formal request to the National Police Service (NPS) to investigate a possible case of sabotage at the international airport aimed at painting his ministry in a bad light.

"Considering the frequency of the power disruption, and taking into account the fact that JKIA is a facility of strategic national importance, we are making a formal request to the National Police Service to investigate possible acts of sabotage and coverup," Murkomen stated.