Residents of Panadol estate in Ahero town, Kisumu County, decry an increase in thefts of electric appliances and other valuables.

According to several estate residents, on April 7, criminals invaded one of the area's buildings and stole Kenya Power energy meters, leaving inhabitants in the dark.

PHOTO | COURTESY police line

“At first we thought there was power outage, or that our token had depleted, only to realise that the meters had been plucked. Our neighbours also complained of stolen meters,” said Cecilia Ombune, a resident in the area.

According to Ombune, this is the fourth incidence in as many weeks. Locals ask the police officers from the adjacent Ahero Police Station to tackle the increasing incidents of theft and burglary.

“These incidents are rampant, yet the police station is only a few metres away from here,” said one of the locals.

PHOTO | COURTESY police line

A local teacher said she lost all her electric appliances, two 6kg gas cylinders, and food in the fridge in a similar incident in March.

“They cut the window grills while we were asleep and wiped the house clean as we were asleep. We woke up only to find everything gone,” the teacher said.

Peninah Akinyi said the thieves broke into her kitchen and ate her food before stealing a phone from the sitting room.