Bungoma man fined Sh5 million for illegal power connection

Kenya Power staff members at work. /FILE
Kenya Power staff members at work. /FILE

A Bungoma resident will either pay a Sh5 million for illegal electricity connections or spend 10 years in prison.

Geoffrey Kiberenge was arrested in the county on October 19 and sentenced on Wednesday.

Two suspects -Nathan Wasike and Paul Okech - were arrested in Likoni on Monday for being in possession of Kenya Power climbing irons.

The two were booked in at Likoni police post and are expected to appear at Mombasa law courts.

In Ruaraka, Jacob Anywaya was arrested for impersonating Kenya Power staff and connecting electricity illegally.

The suspect has been linked to a number of unauthorised connections and retrofitting metres in Roysambu, Githurai 44/45, Eastern Bypass and other areas within Ruiru.

A fake staff ID card, Kenya Power-branded twist seals, a clamp metre and an inspection report booklet were recovered from the suspect.

In the last two weeks, 60 people have been arrested countrywide and charged in court for various offences, mostly illegal connections.

This followed concerted efforts by Kenya Power security personnel to crack down illegal connections, unauthorised reconnections, vandalism and theft of electricity.

“Illegal connections undermine the reliability of power supply as they overload the distribution network and result in unplanned outages and may cause injury or death,” said managing director Ben Chumo.

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