Safaricom base station vandal gets 10-year jail

A man who vandalised a base transmission station belonging to Safaricom has been sentenced to 10 years in jail or a Sh5 million fine by a court in Embu.

Julius Mwangi was handed the heavy punishment after he was found guilty of severing the telecoms operator's transmission station with intent to steal eight pieces of batteries, four comparators and other gadgets valued at Sh482,652.

He committed the crime on August 22, 2017 at Nthagaiya area in Embu.

Senior principal magistrate Josphat Gichimu observed that the whole of Nthagaiya Sub-location was cut off from the rest of the world following the vandalisation of the station by Mr Mwangi and others who were not in court.

Mr Mwangi gained entry into the station after removing a concrete stone and damaged the station, leaving thousands of residents in a communications blackout.

Safaricom reported the matter to police after a security guard doing a routine check-up at the station found it had been vandalised.

In his judgment, the magistrate noted that Mr Mwangi who had similar cases pending in Nairobi courts and other parts of the country had committed a very serious crime and deserved to be heavily punished.

He said evidence by prosecution witnesses proved beyond any reasonable doubt that Mr Mwangi was guilty as charged.

Mr Mwangi was escorted to prison under tight security as he could not immediately raise the fine.