By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya,2 December 2025 - Kenya Power has received Sh940.6 million from the government as partial payment for its ongoing work laying last-mile fibre under the national Digital Super Highway (DSH) programme, according to disclosures submitted alongside its latest financial filings.
The payment reflects progress on the design, supply and installation of fibre-optic connections meant to link public institutions across the country. Beyond the initial report, further government and agency documents confirm the role of the electricity distributor in the ICT Authority’s nationwide broadband plan. The ICT Ministry’s 2024–2027 digital strategy notes that Kenya Power’s pole network is now central to lowering deployment costs countrywide.
ICTA’s project brief highlights that “leveraging existing electricity infrastructure speeds up rollout and reduces costs significantly,” a claim echoed in multiple parliamentary submissions. Kenya’s government aims to construct up to 100,000 kilometres of fibre by 2026 under the Digital Super Highway flagship, connecting more than 53,000 offices, schools, hospitals and administrative centres.
In a statement last year, former ICT Cabinet Secretary Eliud Owalo reiterated that using overhead power infrastructure brings the cost down to between Sh250,000 and Sh350,000 per kilometer, a staggering reduction when compared with trench-digging methods, which the Ministry places at Sh2.2 to Sh2.5 million per kilometre.
The savings could cumulatively reach tens of billions of shillings, freeing funds to expand coverage to remote areas previously deemed commercially unattractive. This partnership also marks a strategic revenue shift for Kenya Power, long dependent on electricity sales amid shrinking margins and losses from system inefficiencies. The company has operated a fibre-backbone since 2010, initially used for grid management and later leased to telecoms, including Safaricom, Jamii Telecom and Wananchi.
But the optimism is tempered by Kenya’s history with publicly funded connectivity projects. A 2025 report tabled before the National Assembly’s Public Investments Committee (PIC) raised
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red flags about a previous Sh34 billion fibre project implemented under the former administration. The committee found that only a fraction of planned public Wi-Fi hotspots were functional, many had never been installed, and some contractors had been paid despite minimal or no progress on the ground.
PIC chairperson Emmanuel Wangwe,warned during the October hearings that “Kenyans must never again pay for a project they cannot see, cannot use and cannot verify.” Civil-society groups, including the KICTANet digital governance coalition, have also urged stronger public audits before releasing large sums to agencies or utilities involved in the expansion.
In a February advisory note, the organisation said that “transparency, maintenance plans and public reporting must form the backbone of the Digital Super Highway; otherwise, we risk repeating past mistakes where infrastructure is built but left unused.” For all its potential, the current rollout still faces challenges. Funding flows from the Treasury have been inconsistent. Local contractors have raised concerns about delayed payments under earlier phases of the National Optic Fibre Backbone Infrastructure (NOFBI).
The ICT Ministry and ICTA are under pressure to demonstrate measurable, verifiable progress, not only on installation, but on active service delivery within the institutions meant to benefit. If executed properly, however, the project could transform digital access in Kenya. Schools would gain stable broadband for digital learning; hospitals could connect to telemedicine and health information systems; government offices could streamline service delivery; and rural communities could finally access digital markets and employment.
For Kenya Power, the partnership offers a long-awaited diversification path that could buffer its financial volatility. The coming years will determine whether the Sh940.6 million payment marks a genuine turning point in Kenya’s digital connectivity, or just the beginning of another ambitious project vulnerable to opaque contracting and weak oversight. The government’s own watchdogs, industry experts and digital rights groups are clear: the infrastructure must not be fibre on paper. It must be fibre that works, and that reaches the Kenyan public.
