Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary, Opiyo Wandayi, has issued a stern warning against the vandalism of electricity infrastructure, declaring that offenders will be prosecuted and jailed as the government pushes to expand rural electrification into historically marginalised areas.
Speaking in Likoni constituency, Mombasa County, where he launched a new rural electrification project in Mphwakani, Shikaadabu Ward, Wandayi said vandalism had become a costly menace undermining development. The initiative is being rolled out by the Rural Electrification and Renewable Energy Corporation (REREC).
“As a ministry, we will work closely with security agencies to apprehend vandals and ensure they are prosecuted and jailed to serve as a deterrent,” Wandayi said. “Electricity projects are capital-intensive and must be protected at all costs.”
The CS urged residents to treat the installations as community property, stressing that their security depended on public vigilance. “We call on citizens to safeguard this infrastructure and report vandals to the authorities for immediate action,” he said.
The electrification drive in Likoni forms part of President William Ruto’s push to spread development beyond Nairobi and central Kenya. Wandayi acknowledged that parts of Mombasa had been neglected since independence, with thousands of households still lacking power. “We must thank the President for initiating rural electrification projects; without his support, this area would not have access to electricity,” he said.
The CS framed the project as more than symbolic: electricity, he argued, was a gateway to economic transformation. “This project will enable residents of Shikaadabu and Likoni to expand businesses and improve their livelihoods. Electricity is crucial for daily life and will unlock investment opportunities, boosting local economic growth.”
The event also carried a political undertone. Wandayi praised the “cordial working relationship” between MPs from opposition leader Raila Odinga’s Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) and President Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza alliance, describing it as vital to peace and unity. He tied the electrification programme to the recent inaugural joint ODM–Kenya Kwanza parliamentary group meeting, suggesting the partnership could reshape political loyalties in Mombasa, a city long regarded as an Odinga stronghold.
“Mombasa has been a bastion of both Raila Odinga and William Ruto; this working relationship will cement their foothold in the port city,” Wandayi said, hinting at political recalibrations ahead of the 2027 elections.
Likoni MP Mishi Mboko, an ODM legislator, welcomed the project, pointing out that it would allow the newly established Mishi Mboko Girls’ Secondary School to expand into boarding facilities. She pressed Wandayi to extend electrification to other underserved areas, including Shonda-Maweni, Dongo Kundu, Pungu Villa, Kwa Muhindi, Kibakani and Vyemani.
“We appreciate the broad-based government. I am from a Dongo Kundu Special Economic Zone investors’ meeting—15 investors are ready to go. This will create employment for our youth,” Mboko said. She also announced plans for an ICT and Resource Centre in Timbwani Ward, and a Huduma Centre in Shikaadabu to ease access to government services.
For residents, the lights may be coming on at last. For the government, however, the challenge now is to ensure the infrastructure endures—unbroken by vandals and shielded from the political rivalries that have long left communities like Likoni in the dark.
