Nakuru residents have raised a red flag over the increased cases of stealing and vandalising of streetlights in Kaptembwo area.
They claim that the county government had played its part in installing the light but criminals had started destroying the lamp posts.
“We suspect it is because they do not want to be noticed while carrying out their activities," said Agnes Nzembu, a resident.
"They have now engaged in a spree of vandalising and destroying them in bid to ensure that the area remained in darkness,” she added.
They are now calling on the police to spearhead the arrest of such gangs, saying that the streetlights had led to a significant reduction of crime rates in the area.
“The police should have taken advantage of the lights. Now they are forced to patrol in darkness as the thieves creep in,” said Janet Monchari, another resident.
She appealed to the local police to use the community policing patrons in the area to ensure that the thieves are kept at bay.
The area was one of the places mapped out by the World Bank that was set to benefit from the street lighting project last year.
The informal settlement hosts more than 5,000 residents.