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 two communities account for 44.3 percent (1,080) of the company’s 2,437 employees. KenGen is majority owned by the National Treasury.
The Kikuyu community leads with 26.8 percent (653 employees), followed by the Kalenjin at 17.2 percent (427 employees). This is disproportionate to their national population share, which stands at 17 percent for Kikuyu and 13 percent for Kalenjin, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics.
The Public Service Commission (PSC) diversity policy for State ministries, departments and 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 percent and three percent, compared to their respective shares at KenGen of 12 percent and five percent.
At the other end of the scale, the report highlights the glaring under-representation of smaller communities. KenGen has only one employee from the Dorobo community, and just two each from the Nubi, Orma, Swahili, and Taveta communities, raising concerns about the inclusivity of its recruitment processes.
A comparison with staffing figures from 2023 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 percent (723) and Kalenjin 16.9 percent (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 and supply chain officers.
The committee chairperson, Mandera West MP Yussuf Adan Haji, urged the company to embrace affirmative action in its hiring drive.
“Ensure that in the ongoing recruitment exercise, you embrace affirmative action to increase the number of employees from under-represented communities,” Mr Haji told KenGen executives.
The inequality extends to promotions. In the last five years, 293 employees were promoted, with Kikuyu (19.4 percent), Kalenjin (15.6 percent), and Kamba (13 percent) taking the lion’s share. Of those promoted, 72 percent were male, with only 27 percent being female.
Managing Director Peter Njenga, appearing before the committee, acknowledged the imbalance and assured MPs that steps are being taken to address the disparities.
“We are working to rationalise the ethnic composition going forward,” Mr Njenga said. “For instance, priority will be given to local communities near our project sites for casual roles, to ensure fair and inclusive recruitment.”
