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KPLC vandal handed 10-year jail term after pleading guilty to transformer theft
KPLC is now installing meters in transformers that are prone to vandalism, to monitor electricity theft. Photo/FILE
A court in Kitale has sentenced a man to ten years in prison for vandalising and stealing power infrastructure belonging to Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC).
The accused, Joel Nyongesa, was convicted by Kitale Chief Magistrate Samuel Mokua after pleading guilty to three counts under the Energy Act No. 1 of 2019.
His co-accused, Charles Luchivia, denied the charges and will stand trial.
According to court documents (File No. E2043/2025; Police Case No. PCR 905–907/2025), Nyongesa and Luchivia were arrested on September 17, 2025, in Matunda and Chemororoch within the North Rift region following an intensive investigation by officers from Kitale Police Station and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
The prosecution, led by Prosecutor Nancy Omari Nuaimi (PCI), told the court that between August 20 and August 24, 2025, the accused persons, jointly with others still at large, willfully vandalized three transformers—serial numbers 88084, 2902, and ST2061216—valued at Sh 5 million.
The duo was also, were accused of stealing copper windings and transformer oil worth Sh 900,000 and of handling stolen energy equipment contrary to the Energy Act.
Nyongesa was further charged with attempted vandalism of another transformer (Serial No. 20220) valued at Sh 2 million on the night of August 17, 2025.
Delivering the judgment, the Chief Magistrate noted that transformer vandalism not only causes significant financial loss to KPLC but also disrupts power supply to homes, schools, and hospitals.
Nyongesa was sentenced to three separate prison terms of ten years each.
The first sentence was for vandalising energy infrastructure, an offence under Section 169(1)(b) of the Energy Act. The second was for stealing energy equipment, contrary to Section 169(1)(c) of the same Act and the third sentence was imposed for the attempted vandalism of a transformer, also in violation of Section 169(1)(b) of the Energy Act.
The court ordered the sentences to run concurrently, effectively jailing him for 10 years. He was also granted 14 days to appeal the ruling.
Authorities are calling the move a major win in the ongoing crackdown against theft and destruction of energy infrastructure.
Kenya Power officials and investigators from the ODPP while commending the conviction, raised concerns of millions of shillings being lost by the company annually due to transformers' vandalism and theft of copper windings and oil.
“This conviction sends a clear message to those who target national energy infrastructure—such crimes will not go unpunished,” said Mr Alfred Seroney, a prosecution witness from KPLC.
The case against Charles Luchivia, who pleaded not guilty, is scheduled for a hearing on November 5, 2025, at the Kitale Chief Magistrate’s Court.
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