The Liberia Electricity Corporation’s task force has arrested nearly two dozen suspects in Kakata, Margibi County, for power theft, most of them business owners.
By Ramsey N. Singbeh, Jr., in Margibi
Margibi, Liberia, September 17, 2024: Had business owners involved with power theft in Margibi County known that on Monday, September 16, 2024, taskforce of the Liberia Electricity Corporation (LEC) would move in and arrest so many of them, they would have had a second thought.
But to the dismay of residents and businesses, the taskforce arrived in Kakata, Margibi County early Monday, 16 September and disconnected several illegal connections, while arresting nearly two dozen business owners caught in power theft.
About 23 suspects, including 17 men and six women, were caught. Cold storage owners, forex bureau operators, owners of entertainment centers, operators of mineral water companies, and other petty business owners were all handcuffed and taken to the Liberia National Police Station in Kakata, where they spent a few hours behind bars prior to being transported to Monrovia for investigation.
Some of the suspects include Sackie Flomo, proprietor of Lofa Mineral Water Company and Sackie Flomo Entertainment Center; the owner of Sapoe Entertainment in Kakata; some members of the Fulani Community in Kakata, who operate a money exchange bureau and other businesses; an Indian businessman who operates a cold storage; and several others who own businesses in the provincial city.
The situation saw the Kakata Police Station jam-packed with family members, friends, loved ones of the accused and onlookers.
Suspect Sackie Flomo, was grabbed at one of his business centers and immediately taken straight into one of two buses that transported the accused to town.
He is heavily criticized because he operated a private electricity business before and drastically prosecuted many people for the same power theft.
Some of them were heard remarking that the LEC Taskforce wrongly accused and arrested people, and some of the accused, while boarding the buses for Monrovia, said they would take the Corporation to court for tarnishing their reputation.
Meanwhile, a member of the taskforce, Clifford Russell, said the individuals were taken to Monrovia for investigation.
He also said the team had earlier videotaped and taken pictures and other necessary pieces of evidence at all of the sites that were involved in illegal connections and arrested those involved.
News of almost two dozen business owners being arrested for power theft has spread in and out of the county like a wide fire with many Margibians expressing astonishment over some of the names involved.
Some residents noted that some of the individuals arrested don’t mean well for the country, because they are very capable of paying for electricity bills.
However, others said that the workforce at the LEC themselves sometimes carry out illegal connections for people in communities, so they are responsible for all the problems the LEC is faced with in the country.
They angrily expressed that the LEC always delay and collect money wrongfully from people, who rightfully engaged their offices for electricity, but often failed to deliver the current in time, causing many people to resort to power theft. Editing by Jonathan Browne
