A police officer attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations based in Makadara, PC Mbithi Nzioka, was arrested in Nairobi for vandalizing high-voltage underground cables.
Nzioka was arrested on Saturday while commiting the offense next to Nyayo Stadium alongside Thomas Mutua and Joseph Kyalo.
The Kenya Power and Lighting Company in a statement said the trio were part of a 10-man gang who were caught vandalizing critical 66kV cables using crude weapons. Others escaped the dragnet.
“During the arrests, Kenya Power’s security team recovered five metres of already vandalized 66 kV underground cable and confiscated four hoes, two spades and two hacksaws,” read part of the statement from KP&LC.
KP&LC stated that critical services in facilities such as Kenyatta National Hospital, KEMRI and Mbagathi were affected by activity from this particular gang of thieves.
Also the vandalized cables serve as the main power supply for the Ragati and Nairobi West substations, which deliver electricity to Upper Hill, the Community area, South C, Nairobi West, Madaraka, parts of South B, the Industrial Area, parts of Langata Road, and Ngumo Estate.
Commenting on the vandalism the Kenya Power and Lighting Company Director Eng. Joseph Siror decried the safety risk posed to both thieves and beneficiaries of electricity supply along the affected grid.
“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,” said Dr (Eng) Siror.
Siror said such illegal activities compromised power supply redundancy, impacting alternative supply points for Nairobi City Centre and its environs.
He called on the public to report any suspicious activity near an electric installation to the nearest police station or at any KP&LC office or using the company USSD code *977#.
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