Residents of Khwisa Trading Centre in Balaka have foiled an attempted theft of a transformer belonging to Electricity Supply Corporation of Malawi (Escom).
In a statement issued yesterday by Escom public relations manager Innocent Chitosi, the attempted theft was orchestrated by some Escom employees.
He said residents at the trading centre got suspicious of five people who alighted from a vehicle and proceeded to dismount the transformer.
“A joint investigation by the police and Escom security show that an Escom employee [name withheld], who is a faults operator, allegedly hired a vehicle in Blantyre on Wednesday last week and drove to Khwisa Trading Centre in Balaka to steal the transformer with four other colleagues,” said Chitosi.
But he said residents arrested two people while three others fled.
Chitosi said those on the run include a temporary linesman at Balaka Escom office and an ex-Escom employee.
Police have since arrested the two suspects and the impounded vehicle is being kept at Balaka Police Station.
In a separate interview yesterday, Balaka Police Station spokesperson Felix Misomali confirmed the arrest of the two suspects at Khwisa Trading Centre.
However, he said he will provide more details later.
Recently, there has been a spate of transformer vandalism and theft in the country, leading to long periods of blackouts in the affected areas.
