NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 19- Ten senior officials at the Kenya Power company will remain in police custody for 8 days, pending conclusion into the ongoing sabotage probe, following last week’s national blackout.
The ten officials who were arrested on Tuesday night, are accused of sabotaging the electricity supply, that affected most parts of the country.
Police caught more time to conclude investigations when they were arraigned on Wednesday.
They include the General manager in charge network. They were presented in court 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.
“Due to management failure and inaction, the vandalism was extended to the neighboring towers subsequently forcing four Kiambere Nairobi towers 11, 12, 13, and 14 to collapse on 11th January 2022,” reads the affidavit by the Investigating Officer.
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 that, among other things, 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 information was however ignored leading to the collapse that caused a major outage.
“The said economic sabotage and likely commission of terrorism act could have resulted into a calamity, mass death and massive destruction of property and unaccountable losses given the high voltage electric current that is conveyed by the said power line,” reads the affidavit.
Under Section 2 of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), any act that endangers the life of a person, creates a serious risk to the health or safety of the public, interferes or disrupts the provision of essential or emergency services, and which is carried out with the aim of causing fear amongst members of the public or intimidate the government to refrain from any act amounts to a terrorist act.
The suspects -David Kamau Mutitu, George Kipkoech Korir, Julius Karani Mwaniki, Geoffrey Kipkirui Kigen, Anthony Gathii Njaramba, Martin Musyoki Makasa, Joshua Wasakha Mang’eni, Raphael Ndolo Kimeu, and Peter Musyoki Kithusya –were yesterday arraigned before Kahawa Chief Magistrate Court where the charges of sabotage contrary to section 343 of the Penal Code and commission of a Terrorism act, contrary to section 4(1) of the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA), were read to them.
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.
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.
Police said six towers along the Olkaria-Kisumu power line were also vandalized in Naivasha on Tuesday.
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