Residents of Mwea village in Gatundu North, Kiambu county, are in darkness after criminal gangs vandalized their transformer in the wee hours of Wednesday morning.
In a constituency that has for the last few months witnessed frequent power disruptions, the vandals are reported to have smashed the electrical transformer before they stole viscous fluid leaving locals in total darkness.
At the scene, journalists established that the transformer which serves Mwea, Gatukuyu, Ndonyero and parts of Mang’u villages had been dismantled in parts by persons who seemingly carefully orchestrated the raid in the wee hours of the night.
Although some residents said they heard electric sparks at around 2:00 am, others narrated heart-wrenching stories of how they experienced sudden blackouts at their homes. The incident happened a few meters from Mwea Police Station in Gatundu North.
Gatundu North residents lament
According to Patrick Kahiro who is a resident, locals initially thought it was a normal power disruption only to find out in the morning that their transformer had been vandalised and its components destroyed.
“We are saddened by the fact that we might now be in darkness for some time waiting for a replacement. Some of us cannot survive without electricity at home and even in the streets, it will be very insecure to walk home at night when there is no power,” Kahiro said.
Also, bearing the brunt of the vandalism are parents whose children go to school very early in the morning and who will now require their company over security issues.
Rose Nduta whose children report to school earliest every morning regretted the vandalism, saying it will severely affect their social-economic activities and urged local leaders to promptly lobby for the transformer’s replacement to enable them to continue going about their daily activities.
“We are asking our MP Elijah Njoroge Kururia to push Kenya Power and get us another transformer in less than a week. We cannot work, or survive without power and from this vandalism, it seems we might be in darkness for some time unless something is urgently done,” Nduta told journalists.
Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) who visited the scene told journalists that investigations had been launched to establish how the vandalism was executed and with the motive of pursuing the vandals.
