Kenya Power Chief Executive Officer Joseph Siror on Wednesday, May 22, revealed that the utility company lost Ksh68 million to vandals immediately after the scrap metal ban was lifted.
Addressing scrap metal dealers at an event organised by the Consumers Federation of Kenya (Cofek), Siror noted that the company recorded zero cases of vandalism during the period the ban was in place.
A total of 76 transformers were vandalised between May and December 2022 immediately after the moratorium was lifted.
"Our investigations have revealed a direct link between vandalism and the copper waste business. For example, between January and May 2022, when the government banned scrap metal dealing, we had zero cases of vandalism," the CEO stated.
"However, immediately after the moratorium was lifted, we saw a serious spike, with 76 transformers worth KSh 68 million vandalized between May and December 2022."
He further estimated that the cost could be higher if the cost of vandalised copper windings, braces, and meters among others is incorporated.
Siror further noted that in 2023, 365 transformers valued at Ksh328 million were vandalised while so far this year, 78 transformers have been destroyed setting the company back Ksh78 million.
"If you compute the cost of unserved energy, loss of business, and possibly lives, the losses are in billions of Kenya shillings. This is a huge loss to the economy and is unsustainable," he added.
Data also showed that in the 2019-2020 financial year, 127 transformer vandalism incidents valued at Ksh 40,546,516.88 were recorded.
Nairobi led with the highest cases followed by North Rift, Mt. Kenya, and Central Rift.
Siror, however, confirmed that mitigation measures were in place and celebrated 12 convictions against perpetrators that were secured between 2022 and 2024.
Some of the vandals were jailed to 30 years in prison and fined Ksh15 million. 166 cases are pending in court.
To further lower the vandalism cases, Kenya Power proposed a total ban on copper exports, continuous vetting of all stakeholders in the scrap metal business, and joint inspections of businesses.
The then President Uhuru Kenyatta banned the scrap metal trade in January 2022 and ordered police to arrest and press treason charges against individuals found vandalising national infrastructure projects.
The ban was in place as the government developed proper guidelines and was lifted on May 1 of the same year.
At the time, the government mandated all traders to be vetted at the county level before being allowed to engage in the business.
