KenGen has no title for 20,827 hectares Turkwel land

Power generator KenGen does not have the title deed for a 20,827 hectares piece of land at Turkwel in Turkana County to prove its ownership of the land.

This has been revealed by Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu in her audit report of the company’s financial statements for the financial year ended June 2024.

The land in question hosts KenGen’s Turkwel Hydro-electric Power Station which has a capacity of 106MW.

The power plant is one of the major hydro-electric power stations in Kenya and is nestled on the border of Turkana and West Pokot counties in north-western Kenya.

According to Gathungu, the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) listed company does not have a title deed for the land, which also hosts other facilities of the company.

The multi-purpose dam that powers the Turkwel Power Station is also utilized by the Kerio Valley Development Authority (KVDA).

Physical verification carried out in September 2024 by the Auditor-General’s office also found that the land had been encroached, with public facilities including two schools and a General Service Unit (GSU) camp established on the land.

Gathungu said the encroachment on the land poses impairment risk of the Turkwel Power Station.

The land on which the plant and other facilities of the company are constructed lacks a title deed to prove ownership. Management provided the letter of allotment for the land signifying progress undertaken in the acquisition of the title deed and explained how emotive the issue of land is in the region

Auditor-General Nancy Gathungu

The Turkwel station was conceived as a multi-purpose project comprising hydro-power, agricultural, fisheries and tourism development. It was constructed under the control of KVDA from 1986 to 1991.

The power produced from Turkwel is connected to the national grid at Lessos sub-station on a 220KV transmission line over a distance of 230km.

Turkwel is one of nine major hydropower stations owned by KenGen. The others are Tana, Masinga, Kamburu, Gitaru, Kindaruma, Kiambere, Sondu Miriu and Sang’oro. It also has several small hydropower stations.

KenGen’s total hydro installed capacity stands at 826.45MW, which is the largest of any source.

brian@theenergyreview.com