Directorate of Criminal Investigation (DCI) officers in Kakamega County have arrested a notorious suspect linked to the vandalism of electrical infrastructure in Shianda.

The suspect, identified as Alfred Hassan Bushuru, was finally apprehended after allegedly terrorizing the villages in Shianda for nearly two years, leaving homesteads without electricity.

Detectives began pursuing Bushuru on August 2, 2024, when a well-coordinated operation by detectives attached to the Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) raided his residence in Shianda village.

He however managed to escape, leaving behind incriminating evidence. “During that raid, sleuths recovered: assorted electrical equipment, a dismantled transformer, bundles of copper windings and several containers of transformer oil,” DCI noted.

Bushuru was later arrested, and led officers back to his homestead for a thorough search that yielded a trove of incriminating evidence that suggests the suspect wasn’t just a petty thief, but an experienced operator in the illicit trade.

Recovered items included assorted KPLC meter cards, multiple SIM cards, a filled electricity application form, and various job cards from different institutions, all bearing the suspect’s name.

DCI further stated that preliminary investigations link Bushuru to a wave of rampant transformer vandalism that has plagued Malava and its environs.

“To the local residents, his arrest is a breath of fresh air; to the DCI, he is a key piece of the puzzle in dismantling the syndicates that treat our national grid like a personal hardware store,” said DCI.

The suspect is currently held at Kabras Police Station, undergoing processing as he awaits arraignment in court.