The farmers said steam from the 2.5 MWe Eburru geothermal power plant has destroyed farm produce worth millions of shillings. Area leader David Gathuru said Kengen had promised to compensate them for the damaged crops and roofing material but it has not fulfilled its pledge.
“Kengen promised to compensate us for the losses months ago but it hasn't,” he said. Kengen’s geothermal development manager Godfrey Muchemi said they have received an assessment report from the Agriculture ministry and they will study it before addressing the issue of compensation.
“The farmers complained that their crops were damaged by the steam. We asked the Ministry of Agriculture to investigate,” he said. Gilgil DC Kamau Karung’o asked the farmers to be patient as the issue is being addressed. He said security around the power plant had been intensified.