Between October 2017 and January 2018, many Kenyans came online to complain about electricity bills that were double, and in some cases triple, what they normally pay. These were, in essence, backdated electricity bills intended to recover KES 10.1 billion in fuel costs that Kenya Power had included in their financial statements for the year ending June 30 2017 with the intent to recover from consumers.
As a result, Apollo Mboya and the Electricity Consumers Society of Kenya moved to court to stop this action. This marked the beginning of the #SwitchOffKPLC Campaign. We are joined by Jerotich Seii, a humanitarian and development consultant, active citizen and one of the organizers of the campaign to discuss its importance to Kenyan democracy. Press play!
Resources
Legal action lodged against Kenya Power for inflated billing
POWER STRUGGLES: Unmasking the thieves behind the KPLC heist
HIGHWAY ROBBERY AND SEX TOYS: Plunder by the numbers
It is time to end the suffocating monopoly Kenya Power enjoys
Skewed deals between Kenya and power firms spark price shocks
Why Ruto’s ally Charles Keter holds the lucrative Ministry of Energy
How to work out the average cost of electricity in Kenya
Power bills to go down as Uhuru orders levy scrap
Delayed KPLC tokens thrust Kenyans into darkness
Ketraco defends value for Sh200bn power lines amid delays
Sh6.3 billion scam erupts at power transmission firm
Sales of off-grid solar systems dim in 7 years
Between May 2017 and June 2018, 47 Ugandan women have been found brutally murdered; having been kidnapped and sexually assaulted or raped. Only three suspects have been arrested in relation to these kidnappings and murders, and none of them has been convicted or jailed. The investigations have been slow, and as a result, Ugandan women have decided to protest against the slow response by the police on the 30th of June 2018. Today, we're joined by Godiva Akullo, Deputy Director of Chapter Four Uganda and one of the conveners of the Women's Protest Working Group. We talk about femicide, violence against women, and how we can support their protest. Press play!
Resources
Uganda's women say enough is enough
Why are so many women being murdered in Uganda?
Family seeks justice for student who fell off a moving bus to her death
Magara narrates how daughter Susan met her gruesome death
Is Susan Magara murder investigation dead?
Fury over arrest of academic who called Uganda's president a pair of buttocks
Uganda: Why Stella Nyanzi’s radical rudeness scares the government
Kenya is currently in the middle of a heavy debate about the proposed 1050 megawatt coal power plant in Lamu. This plant will cost us 2 billion dollars, which is about 202 billion Kenya Shillings. We also seek to start the mining of coal at the Mui Basin in Kitui, where Africa's largest coal reserves are located. This has been met with much protest, due to the harmful effects of coal to people and the environment.
We are joined by Omar Elmawi, a coordinator of the #deCOALonize movement, to talk about why we must resist the setup of this power plant, as well as the green energy alternatives available to Kenya. Press play!
Resources
Blow for residents, activists in bid to stop Sh200bn coal plant
GE buys Sh40bn stake in Lamu coal plant
Why the Lamu coal plant doesn’t make sense. Kenya has better energy options
Kenya plans to cut Lamu coal power plant capacity by half
Geothermal Energy Grows in Kenya
Kenya is building Africa’s biggest wind energy farm to generate a fifth of its power
Kenya To Build East & Central Africa’s Largest Solar-Power Plant In Garissa
The last few weeks have been jarring for Kenyans as we found out that we'd had yet another maize scandal, and this time we lost KES 2 billion at the National Cereals and Produce Board (NCPB) to 21 people. We also found out that we lost KES 9 billion to 10 companies that were irregularly awarded National Youth Service (NYS) tenders. That’s a total of KES 11 billion. A few days ago, it also came to light that we had lost between KES 70 - 95 billion at the Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC). This scandal is still unfolding.
Today, were joined by Anzetse Were (@Anzetse), a development economist, to talk about the cost of corruption on our economy. What does this looting do to our country? Press play!
Resources
Detectives dig up dirt in Sh95bn pipeline of scams
Detectives probe possible loss of Sh70 billion at Kenya Pipeline
Treasury auditor on the run as 20 are charged with NYS looting
Revealed: Firms that gained from Sh9bn NYS scandal
NYS did business with ghost firms in Sh9bn tender scam
MPs summon Kiunjuri over Sh1.9bn NCPB scandal
Inside story of the NCPB maize scam
Gov’t reveals names of 21 maize scandal beneficiaries