A Kenya Power employee who was attacked while on duty in Isiolo County has died from his injuries.
Shadrack Makembo was assaulted on Thursday, April 9, during a site visit in Checheles area near Isiolo town, the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) has said.
Preliminary findings indicate the attack occurred as he investigated suspected electricity theft.
“Despite receiving emergency treatment at the scene and later being airlifted to Nairobi for specialized care, Makembo succumbed to his injuries last evening,” KPLC said in a statement.
The company has condemned the attack and said it is working with authorities to arrets those responsible. One suspect, identified as Sheikh Mayo, is on the run.
“This is not an isolated incident. Some of our employees have previously been attacked while carrying out their duties. Such criminal acts are unacceptable and must not continue,” the company said.
KPLC has urged the public to support its staff as they deliver services across the country.
This isn't the first time a Kenya Power employee has been attacked.
In the past the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) Managing Director Joseph Siror condemned the rising incident of their staff being assaulted.
Condemning an incident where Kitui East Member of Parliament Nimrod Mbai was captured assaulting a member of staff, Siror said the firm will not condone any form of violence against their staff.
He noted that there had been several such cases reported in the recent past.
"We have had a number of violent cases against our staff. In one instance, the perpetrator wielded a panga against a staff member. In Nyandarua, our staff was assaulted while undertaking their duties of disconnection due to the fact that the payments had not been made," said Siror.
The Kitui attack further angered the Institution of Engineers of Kenya (IEK) who condemned the incident saying intimidation towards workers is unacceptable and should not be condoned.
"The Operations and Maintenance Engineer based in Kajiado County was going about his duties in line with the mandate of the power supply company and in the interest of public safety. In the clip, the assailant MP is captured using unacceptable language towards the engineer and his team in front of other employees and onlookers."
"We take great exception to the language, style and dangerous approach used by the MP to express his grievance especially in modern-day Kenya," the statement reads in part.
The attack comes after Kenya Power called on customers to grant its staff access to electricity meters and meter boxes and giving them access where necessary, as it rolls out a new Optical Character Recognition (OCR) system for meter reading.
