Kenya’s largest electric company has blamed a stray monkey for causing a nationwide blackout that left the country without power for more than four hours on Tuesday.
The monkey landed on a transformer at the Gitaru Power Station early Tuesday, causing the hydroelectric plant to lose around 180 megawatts of power and consequently causing a power outage, the KenGen utility company said in a statement.
On Facebook, the company shared a photograph late Tuesday in which the curious culprit could be seen crouched atop electrical equipment.
The Gitaru station is guarded by electric fencing to keep “marauding wild animals” at bay, KenGen said, but the monkey nevertheless managed to evade the security measures and single-handedly spur a blackout that affected businesses and homes across the country.
“We regret this isolated incident and the company is looking at ways of further enhancing security at all our power plants,” KenGen said.
The New York Times identified the miscreant responsible for the mishap as a white fur vervet monkey, a pesky primate that typically measures two-feet in length and is commonplace across Kenya.
KenGen customers reportedly experienced power outages ranging from 15 minutes to four hours starting Tuesday morning, with the New York Times claiming that some of the homes impacted were still dark Wednesday morning.
The monkey was apprehended safely and handed off to the Kenya Wildlife Service, the power company said.
• Andrew Blake can be reached at ablake@washingtontimes.com.
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