When President William Ruto spoke of Kenya doing power load-shedding, maybe he wasn’t aware of what awaited him back at home.
Lawyer Willis Otieno has joined the growing list of Kenyans who have come out to criticise the government over what he termed as “reckless borrowing with nothing to show for it.”
Through his official and verified X handle on Friday, November 7, 2025, Otieno regretted that under President Ruto’s administration, the government had borrowed over Ksh3.5 trillion in less than three years, yet there was no single new power generation project to show for it.
Otieno Questions Government’s Energy Priorities
“It is deeply alarming that after borrowing over Ksh3.5 trillion in under three years, the government cannot point to a single new power generation facility,” Otieno wrote.
“Kenya’s installed capacity has remained roughly constant at around 2,300MW, despite the growing demand for industrial power and the recurrent rhetoric about ‘energy-driven transformation.’”
The vocal lawyer argued that the recent statements from the government suggesting power rationing were misleading, noting that the problem was not generation deficits but poor management and corruption within the power sector.
“Kenya’s load factor has not collapsed because of generation deficits.
“It has collapsed because of systemic mismanagement, corruption in transmission planning, and the deliberate underutilization of existing plants to manufacture scarcity,” he added.
Also watch: Lawyer Willis Otieno blasts Ruto’s affordable housing program
Otieno warned that the government appeared to be preparing Kenyans for another round of expensive Independent Power Producer (IPP) contracts.
He has stated that such deals have always been “opaque, dollar-denominated, and structured to guarantee profits even when no electricity is consumed.”
Ruto admits to power shortages
Speaking to Kenyans living in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025, President William Ruto admitted that the country had been forced to ration electricity between 5 pm and 10 pm daily to keep the national grid stable.
“Today in Kenya, between 5 pm and 10 pm, we have to do load-shedding. We have to shut off some areas to power other areas because our energy is insufficient,” said Ruto.
“We need KSh1.2T to raise our capacity to at least 5,000 megawatts to meet demand.”
Ruto assured Kenyans that the government would find ways to raise the funds, saying, “We can raise it even without any levy, tutatumia akili tu.”
