Kenya: Ruaka Traders Count Losses As Joyland Power Outage Persists for a Week

What the report says

Traders and households in Ruaka’s Joyland area, near Nairobi, are reporting losses after a power cut that residents say has lasted since Monday, according to Capital FM as distributed by AllAfrica. The outage has affected small businesses and, in some apartments, water supply because pumping systems rely on electricity. Residents and business owners say the disruption has made it difficult to work and carry on normal daily activities.

Several affected people told Capital FM they had repeatedly contacted Kenya Power but had not yet received a repair visit. One barber said the problem was linked to a faulty transformer serving the area, while a salon owner said her business had suffered and claimed some residents were told to make payments before work could be done. These allegations were made by residents in the report and were not independently verified in the article.

The utility’s automated customer response acknowledged that the outage had already been logged and remained pending, and advised residents not to pay anyone claiming they could fix the problem. The report says the complaint carried a reference number and that residents were directed to call Kenya Power’s customer line for updates. The episode highlights how prolonged local electricity failures can quickly affect income, household services and confidence in basic utility response, especially where water systems depend on power.