TWO YEARS IN JAIL FOR MAN CONVICTED OF COOKING CHIPS USING TRANSFORMER OIL AND TEN YEARS FOR CO ACCUSED

TWO YEARS IN JAIL FOR MAN CONVICTED OF COOKING CHIPS USING TRANSFORMER OIL AND TEN YEARS FOR CO ACCUSED

By Karambu Kubai

A court in Nyandarua has sentenced a

man to 2 years in prison or a fine of

200,000 Kenya shillings for selling

potato chips cooked using transformer

oil.

Elijah Mwangi Muthoga who operates a

hotel at Ol Kalou trading centre, was

arrested in December 2021 while in

possession of 11 litres of transformer

oil which was used to cook chips at

his hotel as well as repackaged for

sale as popcorn cooking oil.

His co-accused Zachary Mwangi Gitau,

from whom he obtained the transformer

oil, was handed a 10 years’

imprisonment or a fine of KShs. 10

million for vandalizing a 100kva

transformer contrary to section 169

(1) of the Energy Act of 2019.

“This ruling is a big boost to the

Company’s effort to fight transformer

vandalism as the stiff penalties and

jail terms will deter vandals,” said

Kenya Power’s Ag. Manager for Security

Services Maj. Paul Nyaga (Rtd).

The ruling comes at a time when Kenya

Power has heightened surveillance of

the network through partnerships with

other security agencies and the

National Government Administration

Officers in order to stamp out illegal

activities andsafeguard electricity

assets.

Vandalism of transformers is one of

the leading causes of power outages.

In addition to undermining the

quality and reliability of the

electricity supply, transformer

vandalism poses a risk of

electrocution and exposes the Company

to financial losses in lost sales and

the cost of replacing the transformers