- Martoh Muriithi’s journey from a childhood with no electricity to becoming fully off-grid is a powerful testament to resilience and growth
- Today, his five-bedroom home in Ongata Rongai runs entirely on solar energy, marking the fulfilment of a promise he made to himself
- With no more blackouts or prepaid tokens, Martoh looks forward to a future with the transformative power of clean, sustainable energy
For Martoh Muriithi, today “hits different.” Standing on the grounds of his five-bedroom home in Ongata Rongai, he is now officially and entirely off-grid.
Source: Facebook
In a post on Facebook, he indicated that his house runs purely on solar energy, a 5KVA plant that he says makes him marvel at how far he has come.
Martoh’s “dark” childhood
Henceforth, there will be no diesel, no prepaid tokens, and no blackouts. Just sunlight powering every room, every appliance, every quiet moment of his family’s life.
It is a triumph that means far more to him than convenience. It is the fulfilment of a personal promise born from humble beginnings.
Growing up in Rongai, electricity was a luxury he only heard about. He says KPLC was like a VIP celebrity, only found in Karen where the filthy rich lived.
For families like his, the sight of distant city lights felt almost magical, something admired from far away, as if they were tourists in their own country.
Blackouts transformed Martoh Muriithi
Back then, the household owned a single battery that powered the television only on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays.
“If you missed your favourite programme, you simply had to wait until the following week. There was no negotiation,” he recalled.
Those early struggles shaped him. They taught him discipline, resilience, and a hunger to build the life he wanted, not someday, but deliberately, step by step.
He learnt to work hard not just to survive, but to rewrite his story. Today, as he watches the sun quietly charge the power system that runs his entire home, the moment feels symbolic.
What solar means to Martoh Muriithi
To him, it is not about luxury or status. It is about gratitude, growth, and the journey from scarcity to abundance.
“From no electricity to my own power plant,” he says with pride.
For Martoh, the solar milestone represents more than technology as it marks the end of literal and figurative darkness.
Clean energy. Free energy. Smart energy. A testament to the person he promised himself he would become. And as he puts it: “God is good, and the sun is even better. We move.”
Source: Facebook
Vivo Energy installs solar at Shell stations
Apart from domestic consumers like Martoh, corporates have also been going solar as part of the world’s shift to green energy.
One of them is Vivo Energy, the company behind the Shell brand, which recently installed solar systems at its petrol stations across the country.
Apart from embracing the future, the transformative move is also expected to cut the company’s electricity bills by over 20%.
Proofreading by Jackson Otukho, copy editor at TUKO.co.ke.
Source: TUKO.co.ke
