The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has arrested a Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) employee over allegations of soliciting and receiving bribes linked to electricity disconnection threats in Vihiga County.
According to a statement by EACC, the suspect, who is believed to be attached to the Mbale-Vihiga office, was arrested following investigations into allegations that he demanded money from the public in exchange for refraining from disconnecting electricity supply.
The Commission further stated that the matter originated in October 2022 after an organisation based in Vihiga reported a damaged and deteriorating electricity pole near its premises, which posed a serious safety risk.
Despite several reports to KPLC, the statement notes that no immediate action was taken to replace the pole, prompting the organisation to privately hire a contractor to carry out the replacement works in a bid to avert potential electrocution and fire hazards.
It is alleged that following the replacement of the pole, the suspect became agitated over the development and subsequently threatened to disconnect the organisation’s electricity supply unless he was paid a bribe of Sh50,000.
The complaint was later escalated to the EACC, which launched investigations into the allegations.
The Commission states that after conducting preliminary inquiries and gathering evidence, it mounted an operation that led to the arrest of the suspect while allegedly receiving Sh20,000, part of the demanded amount.
Following the arrest, EACC completed its investigation file and submitted it to the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP).
The ODPP subsequently approved bribery charges against the suspect under Section 6(1)(a) as read together with Section 18(1) and (2) of the Anti-Bribery Act No. 47 of 2016.
Court documents indicate that the accused, Kennedy Wambani Oduor, is alleged to have engaged in a series of bribery demands.
In one instance, on October 21, 2022, he is said to have requested a financial advantage of Sh20,000 from Calvin Masitsa Ambajo.
“On the 21st day of October 2022, at Mbale within Vihiga county, being a person employed by a public body, to wit, Kenya Power & Lighting Company as a technician, requested a financial advantage of Sh20,000 from Calvin Masitsa Ambajo so as not to disconnect electricity for an alleged offence of illegal disconnection,” the charge sheet reads.
In a second count, he is alleged to have, on October 24, 2022, demanded Sh15,000 from the same complainant under similar circumstances.
A third count states that on October 25, 2022, he again requested Sh15,000 from the complainant, allegedly linked to threats of disconnecting electricity service.
The charge sheet further indicates that the accused, being a public officer employed by KPLC as a technician, used his position to solicit financial benefits contrary to the law.
Following his arrest, Oduor was booked at Kisumu Central Police Station before being arraigned before the Kisumu Anti-Corruption Court on May 7, 2026.
He denied the charges and was later released on a cash bail of Sh200,000 with a surety of a similar amount.
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