Three people, among them a police officer, were arrested on Saturday night for vandalising high-voltage underground power cables near Nyayo Stadium in Nairobi.
The cables are the primary supply to Ragati and Nairobi West substations, which provide electricity to Upper Hill, Kenyatta National Hospital, Community area, South C, Nairobi West, Madaraka, parts of South B and Industrial Area, parts of Lang’ata road, Ngumo estate, Mbagathi Hospital and KEMRI. Vandalism of these cables has also affected power supply redundancy (alternative supply point) to the Nairobi City Centre and environs.
The three, Thomas Mutua, Joseph Kyalo and Dennis Mbithi Nzioki, a police officer attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), Makadara, were among a group of 10 men armed with crude weapons who were caught vandalising the 66kV cables. The other suspects fled as the three were apprehended and booked at the Capitol Hill police station.
During the arrests, Kenya Power’s security team recovered five meters of already vandalized 66kV underground cable and confiscated four hoes, two spades and two hacksaws.
> BAT Kenya Smokes Out Cigarette Smugglers Burning Up KES 9 Billion
Kenya Power’s Managing Director & CEO Dr. (Eng.) Joseph Siror commended the security team, noting that the company will continue carrying out heightened surveillance of the electricity network to weed out all illegal activities.
“Vandalism of power infrastructure has continued to pose a serious risk to public safety while disrupting electricity supply to homes and businesses. It is unfortunate that, as we work to supply reliable and safe electricity to our customers, a few people are involved in vandalism and other illegal activities that compromise the safety of the network. We will continue to work collaboratively with the public and law enforcement agencies to deal with these illegalities while ensuring that the perpetrators face the law,” said Dr. (Eng.) Siror.
He urged members of the public to report any suspicious activity near electrical installations to the nearest police station, at any Kenya Power office, or through the Company’s USSD Code *977#.
Apart from posing the danger of electrocution, vandalism affects businesses and households through power outages and results in financial losses to the Company in terms of lost electricity sales and the cost of replacement of the vandalized equipment.
> Kenya-Based AI Tech Firm Sama Among Inspiring Companies to Work For
Leave a comment