NAIROBI, Kenya, April 8 – A man in Western Kenya has been sentenced to nearly seven years in prison after being found guilty of multiple vandalism and theft of Kenya Power electricity infrastructure.
George Odiyo, who was arraigned before Kitale Law Courts on April 1, 2025, was charged with four offenses, including vandalism of energy infrastructure, stealing energy equipment, handling stolen energy equipment, and carrying out electrical installation work without authority.
The accused, who pleaded guilty to four charges under the Energy Act, was, however, afforded an option of paying a Sh10.2 million fine to secure his freedom.
“We welcome the court’s decision to impose stiff penalties on this individual as it sends a strong message that vandalism of critical energy infrastructure will not be tolerated. We are working closely with the relevant law enforcement agencies to weed out all illegal activities on our network,” Kenya Power Security Services Manager Geoffrey Kigen said.
“This ruling is a major booost toward our effort to curb vandalism and theft of electricity through illegal connections.”
Kenya’s energy infrastructure has been a frequent target of vandals and criminals, resulting in widespread power outages, disruptions to essential services, and substantial financial losses being the cost of replacement for vandalized infrastructure and lost electricity sales.
“The Company urges members of the public to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activities around energy installations to the police or at any of its offices located across the country.”
