NAIROBI, Kenya, May 13 – Telkom Kenya continues to decry the high incidences of cable vandalism, which it said had risen to Sh2.5 billion.
Corporate Communications Manager Angela Ng’ang’a Mumo said on Thursday that Nairobi and its environs were the hottest spots for criminals and the rains seem to spawn higher incidences as they take advantage of the wet weather to carry out their acts.
On Wednesday, two people were arrested allegedly in the process of excavating Telkom fibre optic cables near the Windsor Golf and Country Club in Nairobi.
Ms Mumo said the biggest expenditure of the cable vandalism arose in maintenance and replacement of vandalized cables. This is in addition to employing 1,400 personnel to take care of their fibre and copper infrastructure.
The two suspects who were arrested led the Telkom Kenya officials and officers from Kasarani police station to their buyers in Roysambu where two suspects were arrested but others escaped.
Telkom cables and tools of trade were netted at their scrap metal shops in Roysambu.
She noted that the five-star Windsor was experiencing vandalism every week adding that every two weeks nearly 100 meters of cables are vandalized on Muthaiga road and Githurai.
She urged the Ministry of Internal Security and Ministry of Information and Communication to help stem this economic sabotage as it hinders penetration of telecommunication adding that stiffer measures should be placed when the vandals are arrested.
