A Kenya Power employee was on Tuesday apprehended after allegedly asking a former ward representative for a Sh300,000 bribe.
Francis Macharia is said to have demanded for a pay off so as to reconnect former Mutithi Ward MCA Jinaro Jamumothe’s electricity.
Jamumothe who has been without power for a month had apparently requested to have his line reconnected into a three-phase line instead of single phase line at Kagio.
Following negotiations between the two parties, the bribe came down to Sh50,000.
The suspect, a meter reader at the Kenya Power Kerugoya offices had allegedly been on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission’s radar from March 16.
Macharia will be arraigned once investigations are concluded.
In February, Kenya Power Managing Director and CEO, Bernard Ngugi revealed that at least 110 employees have been fired in the last one month over electricity theft, illegal connections and fraud.
“In the past 12 months, we have had to lay off close to 100 staff members. They were fired for perpetrating fraudulent activities such as illegal connections, electricity theft, vandalism, collusion with fraudsters and cartels as well as conflict of interest,” Ngugi said during a crackdown in Embakasi to weed out illegal connections and fraudsters.
He further noted that theft of electricity and illegal connections eat up to 20 percent of company revenues every year.
“Stealing of electricity attracts a fine of Ksh1 million. Those who tamper or break electricity meters will be fined Ksh50,000,” he warned, adding that 630 people have been arrested and prosecuted out of whom 115 have been convicted.
Kenya power intensified the crackdown on illegal connections in October last year with the establishment of a special response team called the Field Enforcement Unit (FEU) that works closely with security agencies to promptly address cases of illegal connections.
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