Slum power selling racket switched off

Kenya Power staff move the illegally connected transformer that was used to supply power to a section of residents in Pipeline, Nairobi. [Elvis Ogina/Standard]

Kenya Power yesterday dismantled an illegal power selling racket deep inside a Nairobi slum, exposing how a Sh300 million World Bank-backed slum electrification project was taken over by rogue businessmen.

The early morning operation, which is part of a nationwide crackdown on illegal connections, however raised more questions than answers on how the racket could have gone undetected by the power utility firm for years.