According to Amenya, the trouble began with the push to hand an energy deal to Adani, even though firms like Africa50 had made stronger offers. That move raised questions about whether politics, rather than merit, was driving decisions.
Now the focus has shifted to a massive procurement portfolio worth nearly KES 60 billion. These contracts cover transmission lines, substations, and control centres, projects that form the backbone of Kenya’s energy future.
Under the leadership of Mativo, Ketraco’s technical experts had already secured financing from key partners such as the World Bank, AfDB, AFD, JICA, and Korea EDCF.
The list of projects reads like a roadmap to a modern grid: the Mariakani–Dongo Kundu line, Narok–Bomet, Malindi–Weru–Kilifi, Kabarnet–Rumuruti, STATCOMS at Rabai and Suswa, Kimuka Substation, Makindu Transmission Project, and the National System Control Centre.
Together, these projects were designed to stabilize power supply, extend access, and cut the costly losses that plague the system.
But instead of continuity, Amenya says political insiders have stepped in. Mativo has reportedly been suspended, a move critics see as a way to clear space for those eyeing the lucrative contracts.
In Nairobi’s coded political language, he became an “enemy of people who want to eat.”
The risk is not just inflated prices or poor-quality work. If international lenders see their concessional loans being politicized, they may lose confidence in Kenya’s ability to safeguard development financing.
That could make it harder and more expensive for the country to access future funding.
Institutions rarely collapse overnight. They erode slowly, when short-term political interests take precedence over long-term development.
What is happening at Ketraco, Amenya warns, is a dangerous sign that Kenya’s energy future is being held hostage by patronage networks.
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