Kenya Power meter reader dies after attack in Isiolo

A Kenya Power and Lightning meter reader died after he was brutally attacked while on duty in Isiolo.

Police and Kenya Power officials said the incident happened on April 9 in the morning when the employee identified as Shadrack Makembu, 37 went to read a meter in Chechelesi area.

A tenant is said to have confronted him and stabbed him in the chest, neck and left hand in a confrontation.

The assailant left a sword at the scene and escaped soon after the incident as the victim was rushed to the hospital.

It is not clear what prompted the deadly altercation.

The victim was later airlifted to Nairobi and succumbed to the injuries as the plane landed at the Wilson Airport.
Makembu was being transported by air from Isiolo to Nairobi’s Aga Khan University Hospital for emergency medical care. The evacuation was conducted by AMREF Flying Doctors.

However, upon arrival at Wilson Airport, he was pronounced dead by the medical team on board.

The body was later transferred to Montezuma Monalisa Funeral Home for preservation, where it awaits a postmortem examination to determine the exact cause of death.

Kenya Power condemned the attack.

“While the matter has been reported to the authorities, we wish to note that this is sadly not an isolated incident. Some of our employees have previously been attacked while carrying out their duties. Such criminal acts are unacceptable and undermine service delivery to our customers.”

“We urge our customers and the public to support our workforce as they serve communities across the country,” read a statement.

Police said on Friday they were making efforts to trace the suspect behind the attack.

The team visited the scene where the employee was attacked and talked to other tenants.

They wanted to know how and why the employee was attacked.

There have been isolated incidents where the Kenya Power employees are attacked. This happens when they switch off power supply to some places over non payments.