Investigative agencies have this week arrested three employees, and one customer of Kenya Power for alleged involvement in fraudulent activities against the company.
Two of the employees were arrested on Tuesday for allegedly obtaining underground electricity cables illegally with the intent to make an illegal connection.
Ephantus Mwara Kauma and Peter Rukwaro Kamweru who were arraigned in a Nairobi court on Wednesday are suspected to have obtained over 150 meters of underground cables under false pretense from the Kenya Power depot in Donholm with the intention to connect a customer to electricity.
The two employees are believed to have conspired with the customer, who is still at large, to make the illegal connection after receiving a bribe.
Efforts are underway to apprehend the customer involved in this incident.
If found guilty, the two suspects will be charged with committing an economic crime and will be liable to pay a minimum of Sh5 million or serve a minimum jail term of ten years or both.
Another employee, Eutychus Jonkwan was arrested and detained at Makongeni Police Station last Friday for reportedly stealing copper windings. The suspect is currently out on bail.
In a separate incident, Saul Bulimo, a Kenya Power customer was also arrested on Monday for allegedly making an illegal reconnection to a maize-milling factory in Ruai after his electricity had been disconnected owing to an outstanding bill. The suspect was detained at Ruai Police Station.
The power man has stepped up efforts to address rampant cases of illegal connections, vandalism, bypassing of meters and fraud involving payment of bills, which eat into the company’s bottom line and in the case of illegal connections and vandalism, pause serious threats to public safety.
To achieve this, the company is working closely with security agencies including the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the National Police Service (NPS) to increase surveillance on the national electricity network.
The company has also established a special response team called the Field Enforcement Unit (FEU) that is working closely with these security agencies to promptly address cases of illegal connections and fraud.
Through the efforts of the FEU, the company has made more than 630 arrests since July 2019 and sacked more than 100 employees for abetting various illegal activities related to the theft of electricity and fraud.
