Thika Millionaire Among Arrested Masterminds Behind Vandalism Of KPLC Infrastructure

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 16- Two masterminds behind the vandalism of part of Kenya Power and Lighting (KPLC) electricity infrastructure have been arrested.

Thomas Anasi, 38, who is a former line technician at the country’s electricity distribution company and Joseph Kagwi, 36, a multi-million businessman based in Thika, were after being linked to the high-level crime.

Anasi was arrested in Kayole while Kagwi was seized in Thika.

This follows the disappearance of electricity cables and other materials meant for a rural electrification project in Wundanyi, Taita Taveta county.

The materials worth millions of shillings were at a site in Kushe area, where the government was in the process of connecting locals to the national grid.

Police say they masterminded the disappearance of wires, rods, conductors, and other equipment meant for the project, on January 28, 2022.

The highly organized syndicate comprising of technicians and engineers targets electricity connection sites and power lines and has been responsible for plunging parts of the country into darkness.

The masterminds of the syndicate deployed a crane truck that loaded and ferried the materials from the site to a yard in Nairobi.

The crane truck used to load and ferry the materials was impounded and it is currently detained at Kayole police station. Also recovered were some of the stolen cables and metal rods that find their way to the black market, through Kagwi and his associates.

The arrest of the two suspects comes weeks after President Uhuru Kenyatta, banned dealings in scrap metal due to increased cases of vandalism, targeting critical national infrastructure.

Last November, operations along the busy Mombasa-Nairobi Standard gauge railway (SGR) had to be stopped for two hours after gauge blocks were vandalized from the line.