• They were summoned to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters where they were questioned and later driven to Muthaiga police cells.
• The ten including the General manager in charge of the network is expected in court on Wednesday.
Image: FILE
Ten senior officials at the Kenya Power Company were Tuesday arrested in the ongoing probe into claims of sabotaging electricity supply that affected most parts of the country last week.
The ten including the General manager in charge of the network is expected in court on Wednesday for miscellaneous application as police also investigate suspicion of negligence.
They were summoned to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters where they were questioned and later driven to Muthaiga police cells ahead of the arraignment.
DCI George Kinoti had last week directed detectives from the Serious Crime Unit (SCU) to grill the senior officials charged with the responsibility of securing high voltage lines and transmission from the national grid.
Investigations have revealed that a joint task force by Kenya Power and the Kenya Electricity Transmission Company (Ketraco) had on December 8 furnished the Board with a report.
Among other things, it was recommended that the basement of angle towers of Kenya Power’s high voltage power lines in Embakasi had been vandalised and the cross beams unbolted.
The probe established that a few days after Eng. Rosemary Oduor was appointed the managing director, she on August 10, 2021, wrote to the Board indicating that some materials had to be bought for the maintenance of the power lines.
“The Board was again informed on December 8, but no action was taken. Had action been taken, there would not have been the collapse,” a senior detective aware of the probe said.
The information was however ignored leading to the collapse that caused a major outage.
Detectives have visited the scene and established that the basement of the Angle Towers of Kenya Power High voltage power lines had been vandalized and the cross beams unbolted and removed.
“The angle towers had been vandalised and bracings could not support the weight of the conductors which are very heavy. Other towers failed to sustain the weight and also caved in,” the DCI said.
Despite the site having been classified as a ‘red spot’ that required full-time surveillance, there were no patrols in the area, leading to the thefts.
The theft was reported at the ICD police post and the photos of the vandalised towers were shared with the Kenya Power management.
On Monday, detectives raided the Stima Plaza and carted away computers and other documentation to retrieve the internal communication to establish reports that there was prior communication about the vandalism.
Among the officials who have been grilled include the Chief Engineer, network management officials, Chief security officer among others. Others are Eng George Korir, David Mutiso, Julius Mwaniki of transmission, security officer Geoffrey Kigen, and a Mr Kithusia.
Police said six towers along the Olkaria-Kisumu power line were also vandalised in Naivasha on Tuesday. Energy Principal Secretary Gordon Kihalangwa yesterday toured the affected parts.
Preliminary investigation also points to sabotage, with the Naivasha incident coming barely a week after the Kiambere-Embakasi line at Imara Daima.
And following the January 11 incident, president Kenyatta ordered an immediate probe and action into the said sabotage.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i led a high-level meeting for two consecutive days to unravel the details over the incident that has been described as a threat to national security and economic sabotage.
Matiang'i and his Energy counterpart, Monica Juma, put to task Kenya Power board officials over the matter.
The meeting was also attended by Kenya Power board chair Vivienne Yeda, and top security officials led by National Intelligence Service Director General Philip Kameru, and Deputy Inspector General of police Noor Gabow.
The team later visited the Dandora power station and the site where the collapsed power lines lay.