Two men have confessed to stealing electricity lines that transmit power to parliament buildings after being nabbed by a Kenya Power crew on Thursday, July, 8.
The duo identified as Kuria Mwangi and Nicholas Mungai confessed before judge Sharon Maroro that they stole electricity lines transmitting power to parliament buildings on Uhuru Highway, Nairobi County.
The electricity lines recovered by the Kenya crew were worth Ksh 60,000.
By the time Kenya Power caught them on July 3, 2021, they had already managed to cut over 20 meters of the line.
They had a pick-ax, three tongs, and a hacksaw which they used to cut the lines. The stolen cables were stuffed in a sack.
In court, Mwangi and Mungai were charged with stealing the lines which is against article 169 of the constitution on laws of electricity.
However, in their submission, the two asked the court to forgive them as they were pushed to commit the act due to poverty.
The court ordered the two be detained till July 14, 2021, when the judgment will be delivered.
Early this year, Kenya Power rolled out a countrywide campaign to weed out illegal connections and curb the theft of electricity.
The exercise was jointly conducted by Kenya Power staff and security agencies including the police and Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officers.
During the launch of the crackdown, Kenya Power’s Managing Director & CEO, Bernard Ngugi, said, illegal power connections pose a danger of electrocution not just to the beneficiary but the public at large adding that such presents a loophole for revenue loss to the Company.
