Manhunt launched for thugs behind frequent power blackouts
By Joshua Cheloti
Police officers have intensified a crackdown on a syndicate responsible for the frequent power blackouts that have become the order of the day in parts of Muran’ga County.
This is after investigations involving officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigators (DCI) and officials based at the Kenya Power and Lighting Company, unearthed an elaborate network of individuals who have vandalized at least 18 transformers leading to huge losses to the government and electricity consumers.
The third-party agents suspected to be working with crooked current and former employees are believed to intentionally occasion blackouts in order to generate income through reconnection of power.
“This is achieved through vandalism of crucial parts of a transformer before the agents masquerading as Kenya Power officials approach the affected area residents and reconnect power to their homesteads at a fee,” notes the DCI.
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File image of an armed police officer. |Photo| Courtesy|[/caption]
Police say in the well-orchestrated transgression, the thugs sabotage efforts by KPLC to restore power supply by removing fuses from transformers, immediately the KPLC emergency teams leave the sites.
“This is done in a bid to frustrate consumers further so that they can yield to their demands,” noted the DCI in a statement posted on their Twitter handle.
It is only two months ago that President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a moratorium on scrap metal dealings after investigations revealed that the scrap metal trade was responsible for runaway vandalism of critical national infrastructure, targeting materials used for electricity connection, road and railway construction.
The vandalism has led to huge losses amounting to millions of shillings, in a vice bordering on economic sabotage.
Last week, police officers arrested a man who was found in possession of materials used for the construction of the ongoing Nairobi Expressway, laying bare the extent to which vandals have gone in perpetuating the vice.
Similarly, a man who attempted to remove fuses from a transformer at Kirarwa market in Murang’a was electrocuted and he is fighting for his life at Thika general hospital.
Detectives drawn from the elite Special Service Unit (SSU) supported by the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) have now launched a manhunt for the thugs responsible for the high-level vandalism in Muran’ga county and are following crucial leads to unmasking the thugs.
File image of an armed police officer. |Photo| Courtesy|[/caption]
Police say in the well-orchestrated transgression, the thugs sabotage efforts by KPLC to restore power supply by removing fuses from transformers, immediately the KPLC emergency teams leave the sites.
“This is done in a bid to frustrate consumers further so that they can yield to their demands,” noted the DCI in a statement posted on their Twitter handle.
It is only two months ago that President Uhuru Kenyatta issued a moratorium on scrap metal dealings after investigations revealed that the scrap metal trade was responsible for runaway vandalism of critical national infrastructure, targeting materials used for electricity connection, road and railway construction.
The vandalism has led to huge losses amounting to millions of shillings, in a vice bordering on economic sabotage.
Last week, police officers arrested a man who was found in possession of materials used for the construction of the ongoing Nairobi Expressway, laying bare the extent to which vandals have gone in perpetuating the vice.
Similarly, a man who attempted to remove fuses from a transformer at Kirarwa market in Murang’a was electrocuted and he is fighting for his life at Thika general hospital.
Detectives drawn from the elite Special Service Unit (SSU) supported by the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau (CRIB) have now launched a manhunt for the thugs responsible for the high-level vandalism in Muran’ga county and are following crucial leads to unmasking the thugs. What's Your Reaction?
