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Police arrest 994 people in illegal power connections crackdown

By Amina Wako April 20th, 2021 1 min read

Detectives have arrested 994 contractors and electricians suspected to have facilitated illegal power connection.

Kenya Power Security Manager Major Geoffrey Kigen, who was speaking on Monday during a stakeholders’ meeting in Nairobi, said the company is tightening screws to mitigate losses.

During the crackdown, 116 Kenya Power employees, who were colluding with the clients, electricians and contractors in the illegal connections, were dismissed from work.

“The perspective out there is that people who do illegal connections are those who handle power or have technical skills, so the assumption is these cannot be anybody else but Kenya Power staff. I want to mention that we have Kenya Power A and B. Kenya Power A comprises employees or people who have been licensed and authorised to handle power but out there we have people with technical know-how such as contractors and electricians,” Kigen stated.

Last month the Kenya Power Managing Director Benard Ngugi said illegal power connections cost the utility firm Sh9.6 billion annually in losses, with Nairobi and Kisii leading in the illegalities.

In October last year, the company established a special response team called the Field Enforcement Unit (FEU) that works closely with security agencies to promptly address cases of illegal power connections.