Police impounds truck carrying stolen electricity materials

According to Mr. James Mubi, Kiira the region police spokesperson, the truck driver Moses Lukenge, 37, a resident of Kyebando has also been arrested.

Police say Lukenge was driving to Giant Uganda Company Ltd in Masese, Jinja City from Kisenyi in Kampala.

Mubi says Lukenge was arrested with Umar Ibanda who was escorting the materials and a serious hunt for the owner has also started.

For the past year, thieves and vandals have been hard at work, bringing down 45 functional towers.

An analysis of UETCL’s data on vandalism for the past 15 months indicates that up to 52 electricity transmission towers have been destroyed by vandals along the corridor between Bujagali Hydropower Dam and Kakira Sugarcane plantation.

Fifty of the 52 towers have been vandalised in such a manner that most of their angles (members) were taken. Three of the 50 towers in question have collapsed and now require replacement.

The same data also points out that transmission cables spanning more than 16kms have been cut off and stolen by vandals. This includes, inter alia, the conductors and insulators.

While investigating the trend and impact of vandalism on the electricity sub-sector, this publication last week assessed the Kakira-Musita transmission stretch. We discovered that between Kakira sugarcane plantation and Musita, 58 transmission towers had been destroyed by vandals.

Twenty-nine of the 58 towers had fully collapsed, with the majority of their parts stolen. A dozen towers were standing on only three legs, leaving them prone to tipping over under windy conditions. Beyond Musita towards Mayuge, conductors and insulators were found to have been vandalised in some sections.