Nairobi News

Detectives attached to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Sunday, June 18, 2023, recovered Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) equipment from a yard in Denderu, Ruaka, Kiambu County.

In a statement, the DCI said the KPLC materials believed to have been vandalised are worth Sh11 million and were hidden in the yard owned by Mr Patrick King’ori.

A suspect identified as Ms Florence Kariuki was also arrested.

“Various Kenya Power equipment worth Sh11 million, believed to have been vandalised, has been recovered by detectives in Kiambu County. The recovery, which took place last night, followed a raid on a scrap yard in Denderu town owned by one Patrick King’ori, who has since gone into hiding,” the statement read in part.

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Some of the KPLC materials recovered include transformer fuses, pilon bindings, transformer laminations, transformer shells, high tension cables and other equipment vandalised from power lines.

The incident comes at a time when the Scrap Metal Council (SMC) chairman Francis Mugo has warned traders against vandalising metallic materials during business.

In an exclusive interview with Nairobi News on May 26, 2023, Mr Mugo said a dealer who was found with suspected stolen goods worth Sh6 million, allegedly belonging to Kenya Power, hidden in a container at Embakassi, Nairobi, was not registered with the Scrap Metal Council of Kenya.

“We cannot have people breaking the law and letting them go scot-free, if it is confirmed that they have been operating without a licence then they will have a case to answer,” said Mugo.

He also said the council had already revoked the license of Triple Seven Collectors Limited.

Mr Mugo said any government agency that needs to dispose of scrap metal should do so in consultation with the council.

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