Kenya's blackout was monkey business

© Jacob Dow 123RF.com

According to the power generating company, the rogue primate climbed on the roof of the Gitaru Power Station and dropped onto a transformer, tripping it.

Overload

"This caused other machines at the power station to trip on overload resulting in a loss of more than 180MW from this plant, which triggered a national power blackout," said KenGen in a press statement.

The company said it had secured all its installations with an electric fence to keep off wild animals, but did not explain how the monkey managed to access the area.

"We regret this isolated incident and the company is looking at ways of further enhancing security at all our power plants," said the power generator, adding that the system had since been restored and power generating units were operating normally.

Plunged into darkness

Many parts of the country were plunged into darkness on Tuesday following the hitch at the country's biggest hydro-electricity station with a capacity of 225MW.

Monkey survives

Amazingly, the monkey is said to have survived and is now in the custody of the Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS).

Kenyans on social media reacted swiftly, poking fun at the revelations and wondering how a primate could cause such a huge power blackout which affected many businesses in the country.