How We Took the Sondu Miriu Communities’ Fight to Parliament — And Won
For over two decades, the communities along the Sondu Miriu Dam have lived beside one of Kenya’s major hydroelectric sources — and been denied the very power it generates.
No electricity. Contaminated water blocked by hippo grass. Roads closed. Wild animals prowling the river banks. KENGEN’s CSR projects started and abandoned. A hospital road cut off. A generation of students unable to access online education during COVID because there was no power within 10 kilometres.
We tried everything. We protested. We blocked roads. We wrote letters. People were injured. One person died. Nothing changed.
Then we found a new way.
In 2020, AfriNov — the African Centre for Non-Violence — introduced Mwangaza to a different approach. Not protests. Not confrontation. Organised, peaceful, evidence-based advocacy. We documented our situation. We mobilised our community. We built our case.
In 2022, we filed Petition No. 002 of 2022 with the National Assembly of Kenya. We listed every injustice our communities had suffered. We asked Parliament to hold KENGEN accountable.
In May 2022, we travelled to Nairobi. We sat before Members of Parliament. We defended our petition.
Parliament adopted our report.
The committee recommended that most of our prayers be implemented within 90 days. KENGEN was directed to provide electricity, clean water, repair roads, clear the hippo grass, complete the school buildings, build a health facility, and process our title deeds.
Three years on, not everything has been done. Some projects have stalled. But the fight continues — and we have a legal, parliamentary mandate behind us.
In April 2025, we organised a face-to-face stakeholder forum with KENGEN at the Sub-County HQ. In December 2025, our Chairperson addressed Cabinet Secretary Hon. James Opiyo Wandayi directly when he visited Kabondo Kasipul.
The light is coming. Mwangaza — light — will not stop until it reaches every household.
Mwangaza Integrated Project is a Community-Based Organisation in Kabondo East Ward, Rachuonyo East Sub-County, Homa Bay County, Kenya.
