What electrical fault? Kenya Power asks

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 28 – Kenya Power has dismissed claims that Monday afternoon’s blast on Moi Avenue could have been caused by an electric fault.

In a statement, Kenya Power Corporations Communications Manager Migwi Theuri indicated that a response technical team sent to the scene found that all cables inside the building were intact.

“The team found all the electrical connections to the building including the cut-outs (fuses) on the Kenya Power side that would otherwise blow in the event of a short circuit inside the building intact,” he said.

He was responding to assertions by Police Commissioner Mathew Iteere that the massive blast was caused by an electrical fault.

Theuri added that there was no ground-mounted transformer inside the building or outside that would have exploded, causing the blast that left close to 30 people injured.

Theuri also indicated that the power network supplies in the building would have switched off to prevent a fault, in the event there was a power problem that caused the blast which was heard in many buildings within the Central Business District.

“On the Kenya Power network that supplies the general area, no protective devices operated. Protective devices would switch off power network to prevent a fault in premises, such as the affected building from coming back into the rest of the network,” he asserted.

In an interview, he further said the power supply on that line will stay off until they are sure that there is no danger to any of the other businesses nearby.

The statement by Kenya Power created further confusion as the police maintained it was an electrical fault, while Prime Minister Raila Odinga blamed terrorists “for the heinous act.”

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