KDN employee acquitted of vandalism charges

Operators accuse rivals of sabotaging their networks as competition heightens (image credit: photo © 2009 Alex Kovach)
A Kenya Data Networks (KDN) employee accused by telecoms rival Telkom Kenya of vandalising Telkom Kenya’s fiber cables was acquitted of all charges by the High Court sitting in Eldoret.

The employee who was accosted on October 7, 2009 by Telkom Kenya staff who later called the police to arrest him. He was subsequently arraigned in court on charges of sabotage and vandalism.

The court last week found him innocent of all charges levied against him, based on the fact that the court found no evidence implicating him.

KDN Chief Marketing Officer Vincent Wang’ombe said that KDN is pleased with the court ruling and that justice had prevailed.

He went on to say that “KDN is against any form of sabotage, and supports any plans by government to bring in harsher and stiffer penalties like longer jail terms for fiber saboteurs”.

The ruling comes in the wake of heated competition among industry players with some players allegedly sabotaging their competitors’ infrastructure.

KDN has reiterated its commitment to good governance and repeated the assurance that it would not engage in sabotage.

“We are content with our stand in the industry as the largest infrastructure provider in the region; such unethical rivalry as industrial sabotage is not part of our strategy,” Wang’ombe added.

BRIAN ADERO in Nairobi, Kenya