A man will have to spend 10 years in prison or pay a five million shillings fine for stealing a meter board.
Brian Wahome was on Tuesday sentenced to 10 years in prison or a fine of five million shillings by a Nanyuki law court for vandalizing a customer’s electricity meter board.
Wahome, who was arrested and booked at Timau police station in Meru County, was in possession of two cutouts, a switch, and a meter board.
He was charged with stealing energy equipment contrary to section 169 (1) (c) of the Energy Act 2019.
Nanyuki law court Resident Magistrate Lisper Gakii Nyaga handed Wahome his sentence after he pleaded guilty to the charges.
His sentence came just four months after a similar sentence was handed to two suspects who were found guilty of vandalizing and siphoning oil from a 100kva transformer. They are said to have used the oil to cook potato chips.
Meanwhile, Kenya Power’s Ag. Security Services Manager Maj. Paul Nyaga Gichovi (Rtd.) has welcomed the judgment, terming it a big boost to the fight against vandalism.
“This sentence will go a long way to deter vandalism and other illegal activities on the network. We are relentless in the fight against these crimes as they pose the danger of loss of life through electrocution and undermine the quality of power supply, beyond financial losses to the Company,” said Maj. Nyaga.
To support the fight against vandalism and other illegal activities on the electricity distribution network, Maj. Nyaga urged the public to report any suspicious activities on the network to the nearest police station or Kenya Power office.
