City Affairs

Ruto orders arrest of officials who issued license to Embakasi gas plant

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By Lucy Mumbi | Saturday, February 3, 2024

He said the officials must be held accountable for allowing an illegal plant to continue operating in a residential area.

President William Ruto has called for the dismissal, arrest and prosecution of government officials involved in the issuance of licences to the gas plant in Miradi Area Embakasi East.

This comes after Energy Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) on Friday confirmed that the illegal gas plant which left three people dead and over 200 injured, was operating illegally.

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Speaking in Kakamega County on Saturday, Ruto said the government officials must be held accountable for allowing an illegal plant to continue operating in a residential area even after its cancelled licence.

"Kenyans have been injured and others have died. The fellows who are involved in this, the Ministry must immediately take action against them. They must be dismissed and prosecuted for the crimes they have committed," he said.

"The government officials who issued licences for gas installations in residential areas when it was very clear that it was the wrong thing to do, but because of incompetence and corruption, they issued licences," Ruto said.

In a statement, the Petroleum Institute of East Africa (PIEA) revealed that the owner of the LPG filling station was arrested in 2020 over illegal operations.

PIEA General Manager Wanjiku Manyara said the accused persons were found guilty and convicted, with a sentence issued on May 18, 2023.

However, despite the conviction and the High Court's recommendation of the mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison or a penalty of Sh10,000,000, the parties were released on more lenient terms.

Manyara also said the magistrate released all vehicles, including two LPG tankers.

"One of the LPG tankers [that was] unprocedurally released by the Courts was of registration number ZC 1286, which is one of the tankers involved in this incident," Manyara said.

Firemen extinguish a blaze following a series of explosions in the Embakasi area of Nairobi on February 2, 2024. (Photo: SIMON MAINA/AFP)

On the other hand, EPRA said it had rejected all applications for construction permits of the LPG gas plant but it continued with the operations.

They noted that the applicant never provided the requested QRA resulting in the rejection of the applications.

"As the regulator, we have formulated short and medium-term measures to ensure the safety of all LPG plants in the country is guaranteed. This is through actions such as undertaking detailed technical audits of all licensed LPG plants in the country with the objective of ensuring high safety integrity status in terms of Health, Safety, Security and Environment (HSSE)," reads the statement.

The president has insisted that nobody should be spared in the fight against corruption and impunity in his government.