NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 19 – Nine Kenya Power managers will now be detained for eight days to allow police complete their investigations over alleged sabotage.
The suspects were arraigned before trial magistrate Boaz Ombewa where the Director of Public Prosecutions sought for twenty-one days, a move opposed by the defense lawyers led by Dansan Omari.
According to the DPP, the investigating officers needed more time to probe and establish the cause of the black out that rocked the country last week.
The prosecution further stated that the law does not permit them to hold the suspects for more than 24 hours without the order from the court/.
The matter is set to be mentioned on January 28 to confirm whether investigations have been completed.
So far, investigations have shown that the basement of the Angle towers of Kenya Power’s High voltage power lines in Embakasi had been vandalized and the cross beams removed and unbolted, leading to the collapse that caused a major outage.
“Preliminary investigations and Interrogations of Kenya power personnel at the scene revealed that the basement of the Angle Towers of Kenya Power High voltage power lines had been vandalized and the cross beams removed/unbolted,” Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti said.
The probe showed that since the Angle Towers had been vandalized and bracings (tower members) they could not support the weight of the conductors which are very heavy and the tower itself.
“The team also established that the Angle towers caved in, the other towers failed to sustain the weight and also caved in,” Kinoti said citing a preliminary report from his detectives.
