Three Suspects Arrested with Vandalized Kenya Power Equipment Worth Millions in Juja

Police in Juja, Kiambu County have arrested three suspects and recovered vandalized Kenya Power equipment worth millions of shillings.

Johana Thuku, Stephen Githitu, and Patrick King’ori were arrested after detectives acting on intelligence raided a scrap metal yard in Juja's Matangi area on Thursday.

The operation is part of the ongoing war against vandalism of critical national installations that has been on the increase.

Several vandalized transformers, rolls of aluminum conductors, and assorted materials belonging to the Kenya Power & Lighting Company were recovered during the raid.

A further search in nearby homesteads led to the recovery of more vandalized apparatus, where a container full of steel bracings obtained from critical electricity transmission towers were recovered.

The arrest of the three suspects comes barely a month after President Kenyatta announced a moratorium in scrap metal trade due to runaway vandalism targeting critical national infrastructure. 

On January 11th, the country was plunged into darkness after a high voltage transmission line connecting Nairobi collapsed in what was suspected to be high-level vandalism. 

In November last year, operations along the Mombasa-Nairobi Standard gauge railway (SGR) were paralyzed for two hours after gauge blocks were vandalized from the line. 

Five suspects have been arrested and arraigned since the crackdown began.