Thugs struck the home of the late former President Mwai Kibaki on Tuesday, just 3 days after he was buried at his rural home in Othaya, Nyeri County.
According to pictures reaching the news desk, the robbers vandalised a transformer mounted at Kibaki’s home.
The vandals unmounted the transformer and proceeded to loot parts of the electrical equipment.
Sources aware of the situation say that Kenya Power has already reported the matter to the police.
“We had to connect the affected houses to a feeder line at Othaya Sub-Station, which serves the town centre and its environs. As a result, power was restored, though temporarily, the following day (Wednesday, May 4) at 11am,” confirmed Kenya Power distribution engineer in Othaya, Benjamin Onsomo.
In the days leading up to the burial, Kenya Power repaired street lights and cables around the Kanyange area where the late Kibaki’s home is situated.
In April, Kenya Power raised alarm over an increase in transformer theft cases in various parts of the country.
Vandalism of electrical equipment is considered an economic crime according to the Energy Act and suspects are liable to pay a minimum fine of Sh5 million or a minimum jail term of 10 years if convicted.
In order to combat unauthorised connections and vandalism, Kenya Power recently increased monitoring of the grid network.
The company is also working closely with other security stakeholders including the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Kenya Police Service to track down vandals.
In April, Kenya Power employees were charged in a Thika court with vandalizing two transformers valued at Sh1.9 million early this year.
In the last financial year, Kenya Power lost 12 transformers to vandals in Murang’a alone.
Replacement of vandalised transformers costs the utility firm more than Sh500,000 each.
