George Odiyo ,a man linked to multiple incidents of vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructure in Western Kenya has been sentenced to six years and ten months in jail, with the option of a KShs.10.2 million fine.
The sentence was handed down in Kitale on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, after the individual pleaded guilty to four charges under the Energy Act. Odiyo was arraigned before Kitale Law Courts on April 1, 2025, facing four offenses.
These included vandalism of energy infrastructure, stealing energy equipment, handling stolen energy equipment, and carrying out electrical installation work without authorization.
Odiyo, described by prosecutors as a habitual offender with previous convictions for similar offenses, pleaded guilty to all charges. For the first two counts of vandalism of energy infrastructure and stealing energy equipment, he received a 3-year jail term for each count with an option of a KShs. 5 million fine.
On the third count, he was sentenced to five months in prison with an option of KShs. 100,000 fine for handling stolen energy equipment. On the fourth count, Odiyo was sentenced to five months behind bars with an option of KShs. 100,000 for carrying out electrical installation work without authority.
Kenya Power has welcomed the court’s decision to impose stiff penalties, viewing it as a strong message that vandalism of critical energy infrastructure will not be tolerated.
Major Geoffrey Kigen (Rtd.), Kenya Power’s Security Services Manager, stated, “We welcome the court’s decision to impose stiff penalties on this individual as it sends a strong message that vandalism of critical energy infrastructure will not be tolerated.” He added, “We are working closely with the relevant law enforcement agencies to weed out all illegal activities on our network.
This ruling is a major boost toward our effort to curb vandalism and theft of electricity through illegal connections.”
The vandalism and theft of electricity infrastructure have been a persistent problem, resulting in widespread power outages, disruptions to essential services, and significant financial losses due to the cost of replacement and lost electricity sales.
