Ketraco MD John Mativo Terminated Amidst Ksh 6 Billion Corruption and Gross Project Mismanagement

The Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (KETRACO) has announced the immediate termination of its Managing Director, Dr. Eng. John Mativo, citing an internal audit that uncovered rampant incompetence and corruption claims amounting to a staggering Ksh 6 billion. The decision to oust Mativo was finalized by the Ketraco Board of Directors after high-level consultations with the Head of Public Service, triggering a swift change in the leadership of the critical state corporation. Engineer Kipkemoi Kibias has been appointed to the position of Acting Managing Director, tasked with restoring stability to the agency.

The financial fallout under Mativo’s tenure was considerable. The investigation focused heavily on crippling project delays and related costs, including the Ksh 6 billion in alleged corruption and mismanagement. Most notable was the severe penalty incurred on the vital Kenya-Ethiopia power interconnector project. Finance reports revealed that Ketraco was forced to pay a colossal Ksh 417 million in penalty fines for the delayed commissioning of this project, a cornerstone of the Ksh 140 billion East African Powerpool master plan designed to bolster regional energy security.

Further evidence of gross mismanagement emerged from a probe into the destruction of a high-value asset: a 70-ton, Ksh 400 million high-voltage transformer damaged while being transported to the Kitale substation. Investigators discovered a complete breakdown of procurement and logistics protocols, with the contract for the specialized transport reportedly awarded based on a verbal agreement and without proper documentation or insurance. The failure to safeguard such a critical piece of national energy infrastructure was cited as a major instance of operational negligence. Some netizens have invoked witch hunt, and we can only wait and see how events unfold going forward. 

Engineer Kipkemoi Kibias, formerly the General Manager for System Operation and Power Management, now inherits an agency facing immense pressure to restore integrity and performance. His immediate mandate will be to establish tighter financial controls and navigate the complex Public-Private Partnership (PPP) projects critical for modernizing and expanding the nation’s electricity grid, a challenge made significantly tougher by the organizational turbulence he is tasked with overcoming.