Kenya Power official arrested for demanding Ksh20,000 bribe from a church
Kenya Power official arrested for demanding Ksh20,000 bribe from a church
The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission(EACC) has arrested a Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) technician in Vihiga County for allegedly soliciting and receiving a Ksh20,000 bribe.
The suspect worked at KPLC’s Mbale-Vihiga Office as a technician and was arrested on May 6, 2026, following a carefully planned sting operation mounted by the commission after months of building a solid case against him.
“The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) yesterday arrested an employee of the Kenya Power & Lighting Company (KPLC) attached to the Mbale-Vihiga Office following investigations into bribery allegations,” EACC confirmed.
EACC traced the case back in October 2022 when God’s Vision for Africa, a faith-based organisation in Vihiga, reported a damaged and dangerous electricity pole near its premises to KPLC. The company took no action.
Frustrated by KPLC’s silence and genuinely fearing electrocution or fire, the organisation eventually hired a private contractor to replace the rotten pole at their own cost.
That private repair reportedly did not sit well with the technician. According to the EACC, the accused became agitated and threatened to disconnect the organisation’s power supply, claiming the pole had been replaced illegally without KPLC’s authorisation.
The anti-graft body confirmed that he then allegedly demanded Ksh50,000 to avoid having their electricity cut off, a demand that the organisation refused and instead walked into EACC offices to report the matter.
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After wrapping up their investigations, EACC forwarded the file to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), who approved three bribery counts against the suspect under Sections 6(1)(a), 18(1), and 18(2) of the Anti-Bribery Act No. 47 of 2016.
The charge sheet of the accused indicates that he was arrested on two counts.
He is alleged to have demanded Ksh20,000 from another victim in a pattern of repeated extortion on October 21, 2022, followed by separate demands of Ksh15,000 each on October 24 and 25, 2022, all linked to threats of electricity disconnection in Mbale.
“On the 24th day of October, 2022, at Mbale within Vihiga County, being a person employed by a public body, to wit, Kenya Power and Lighting Company as a Technician, requested a financial advantage of Ksh15,000/- from… so as not to disconnect electricity for an alleged offence of illegal disconnection,” the charge sheet read in part.
The accused was later booked at Kisumu Central Police Station and subsequently presented before the Kisumu Anti-Corruption Court on May 7, 2026, where the EACC is listed as the complainant.
However, the court released him on a cash bail of Ksh200,000 with a surety of the same amount. His case now joins a growing list of public officers facing prosecution as Kenya continues cracking down on corruption within its key service institutions.
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