Kiraitu Murungi, former Energy minister, and two ex-principal secretaries, Patrick Nyoike and Joseph Njoroge, have been implicated in the ownership of Gulf Power Limited, one of the independent power producers (IPPs) responsible for high electricity prices in Kenya.
The Senate Committee on Energy, which is investigating the high cost of electricity in the country, had invited the managing director or chief executive of Gulf Power Limited to appear before them, but neither came, and the firm’s General Manager, Norman Wanderi, appeared instead.
During the hearing, it emerged that Mauritius-based Gallant Power Limited owns 80% of ordinary shares in the firm, with the other 20% split equally between Kenya Power and Lighting Company Limited Staff Retirement Benefits Scheme and Noora Power Limited.
However, most of the directors are Kenyan, except for American Philip William Dyk. The senators demanded to know why the majority shareholder in the firm is a company registered in another country and pressed Wanderi to reveal the beneficial owners of Gallant Power Limited.
They also asked whether Murungi, Nyoike, and Njoroge own part of the company, but Wanderi denied it, without providing a list of the real directors.
Gulf Power, which signed a 20-year contract with Kenya Power, has been accused of selling electricity at twice the cost compared to other IPPs, according to a presidential task force report that reviewed power purchase agreements in 2018.
