Man faces two years in jail for cooking chips with transformer oil

A court in Engineer, Nyandarua County has sentenced a man to two years in prison for selling potato chips cooked using transformer oil.[File,Standard]

A court in Engineer, Nyandarua County has sentenced a man to two years in prison or pay a fine of Sh200, 000 for selling potato chips cooked using transformer oil.

Elijah Mwangi Muthoga was arrested in December 2021 while in possession of 11 litres of transformer oil, which was used to cook chips at a hotel he operates at Ol Kalou trading centre.

His co-accused Zachary Mwangi Gitau, from whom he obtained the transformer oil, was handed a ten- year imprisonment or a fine of Sh10 million for vandalizing a transformer contrary to section 169 (1) of the 2019 Energy Act.

"This ruling is a big boost to the Company's effort to fight transformer vandalism as the stiff penalties and jail terms will deter vandals," said Kenya Power's Acting Manager for Security Services Maj. Paul Nyaga (Rtd).

The ruling comes at a time when Kenya Power has heightened surveillance of the network through partnerships with other security agencies and the National Government Administration Officers in order to stamp out illegal activities and safeguard electricity assets.

Vandalism of transformers is one of the leading causes of power outages in the country.

In addition to undermining the quality and reliability of the electricity supply, transformer vandalism poses a risk of electrocution and exposes the company to financial losses in lost sales and the cost of replacing the transformers.