{"id":110982,"date":"2025-02-25T11:03:56","date_gmt":"2025-02-25T11:03:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2025\/02\/25\/city-hall-takes-down-fiber-optic-cables-on-power-poles-in-feud-with-kenya-power\/"},"modified":"2025-02-25T11:03:56","modified_gmt":"2025-02-25T11:03:56","slug":"city-hall-takes-down-fiber-optic-cables-on-power-poles-in-feud-with-kenya-power","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/city-hall-takes-down-fiber-optic-cables-on-power-poles-in-feud-with-kenya-power\/","title":{"rendered":"City Hall takes down fiber optic cables on power poles in feud with Kenya Power"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 25 \u2014 Nairobi City County has launched a major crackdown on unauthorized fiber optic cables mounted on power poles along key highways amid an escalating feud with Kenya power. <\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The operation, which commenced Tuesday morning on Argwings Kodhek Road, aims to disconnect internet cables installed without county approval, City Hall said.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking during the exercise, Nairobi County Revenue Chief Officer Tiras Njoroge stated that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) had failed to comply with regulations requiring them to pay for wayleaves and obtain official authorization to install the cables.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThese fiber lines are illegal. We have given the ISPs ample time to pay for hosting them on these poles, but they have refused. They have neither paid for wayleaves nor sought county approval,\u201d Njoroge said.<\/p>\n<p>He further warned ISPs to ensure that all fiber optic installations on county road reserves have the necessary approvals and that wayleave fees are fully paid.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe need revenue to operate and deliver services [and] have engaged Kenya Power (KPLC) over the KSh 4.8 billion debt they owe us, but they have refused to pay. We will take all necessary measures to push them to settle their dues.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">County permits <\/h2>\n<p>Njoroge accused KPLC of enabling non-compliant companies to mount fiber optic cables on power lines without county business permits, wayleave approvals, or even authorization from the Communications Authority.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is unfortunate that KPLC is helping these companies evade regulations while denying the county its rightful revenue,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>The crackdown comes a day after County Secretary Godfrey Akumali accused KPLC of refusing to settle its debt while dismissing claims that the Nairobi City County Government (NCCG) owes the power utility Sh3 billion.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet it be very clear\u2014KPLC owes us Sh4.8 billion. They are making profits and announcing them publicly, yet they refuse to pay their dues,\u201d Akumali stated.<\/p>\n<p>County officials argue that beyond failing to settle its debts, KPLC is profiting from public infrastructure without compensating the county. <\/p>\n<p>Finance CEC Member Charles Kerich pointed out that KPLC leases its power poles and transmission lines to ISPs, allowing them to install fiber optic cables without paying wayleave fees to the county.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cKPLC now hosts optic cables and internet services. Those green and red cables on their poles? That\u2019s internet. They are making money, yet they refuse to pay their debt. Who are we supposed to pay ours to?\u201d Kerich said.<\/p>\n<p>The standoff remains unresolved as both sides hold firm on their positions.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 25 \u2014 Nairobi City County has launched a major crackdown on unauthorized fiber optic cables mounted on power poles along key highways amid an escalating feud with Kenya power. The operation, which commenced Tuesday morning on Argwings Kodhek Road, aims to disconnect internet cables installed without county approval, City Hall said. Speaking [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-110982","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110982","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=110982"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/110982\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=110982"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=110982"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=110982"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}