The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) head offices in Nairobi.
The Kenya Electricity Generating Company (KenGen) is on the spot after it emerged that two ethnic communities – Kikuyu and Kalenjin – occupy nearly half of jobs at the State corporation, highlighting inequality in access to public sector employment among Kenya’s 43 communities.
A report submitted to the National Assembly Committee on National Cohesion and Equal Opportunity shows that the duo accounts for 44.3 per cent (1,080) of the company’s 2,437 staff. KenGen is majority owned by the National Treasury.
Dominant duo
The Kikuyu community leads with 26.8 per cent (653 employees), followed by the Kalenjin at 17.2 per cent (427 employees). This is disproportionate to their national population share, which stands at 17 per cent for Kikuyu and 13 per cent for Kalenjin, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
The Public Service Commission diversity policy for state agencies, issued in 2015, stipulates that an ethnic group is considered over-represented if its share of public service jobs exceeds its proportion in the national population.
Other over-represented communities at KenGen include the Luo and Maasai, whose respective national population shares are 11 per cent and three per cent compared to their KenGen proportion at 12 percent and five percent respectively.
On the opposite end of the scale, the report highlights glaring under-representation of smaller communities. KenGen has one staff member from the Dorobo community, and just two each from the Nubi, Orma, Swahili, and Taveta communities.
Policy violation
A comparison with 2023 staffing figures shows a slight decline in representation from the two dominant groups. The data shows KenGen had 2,602 employees, with Kikuyu accounting for 27.8 per cent (723) and Kalenjin 16.9 per cent (440).
The report comes just days after KenGen closed applications (on May 30, 2025) for new vacancies, including positions such as electrical technician, civil engineer, legal officer, plant operator, property officer, and supply chain officer.
Committee chairperson and Mandera West MP Yussuf Adan Haji urged the company to embrace affirmative action in its ongoing recruitment drive.
“Ensure that in the ongoing recruitment exercise, you embrace affirmative action to increase the number of employees from underrepresented communities,” Haji told KenGen executives.
Management response
KenGen MD Peter Njenga, appearing before the committee, acknowledged the imbalance and assured MPs that steps are being taken to address it.
“We are working to rationalise the ethnic composition going forward,” Mr Njenga said, adding: “For instance, priority will be given to local communities near our project sites for casual roles, to ensure fair and inclusive recruitment.”
