A multi-agency operation led by officials from the Energy Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has exposed a fuel siphoning den in Kirinyaga County.
In a statement on Sunday, February 23, 2025, EPRA noted that the operation discovered the said site located in the Karuku area in Makutano.
The well-coordinated operation which involved officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) Energy Police Unit and the National Police Service (NPS) seized siphoning equipment at the site.
However, EPRA noted that the owner of the site beat the police dragnet and escaped. They have since launched a manhunt to bring the owner to book.
“As part of our surveillance to ensure safe petroleum handling and compliance, our ever-vigilant enforcement team swooped in and busted a fuel siphoning den at Karuku area, Makutano in Kirinyaga County.
“Our team impounded illegal siphoning equipment at the site, while in a classical case of ‘catch me if you can,’ the facility’s owner fled from the scene and is still on the run,” EPRA’s statement read in part.
“A multi-agency team involving our officers, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations – DCI, the Energy Police Unit and the National Police Service are pursuing the matter in a bid to arrest the culprit,” it added.
Warning
Following the discovery, EPRA issued a warning to tanker drivers against purchasing illegal products. The regulatory body insisted that they should get the product only from licensed dealers.
Further, the body warned the public against purchasing such products which pose a grave danger or engaging in the vice.
“We remind the public and petroleum tanker drivers that it is illegal to purchase petroleum products from unlicensed dealers.
“The safety of the public and all stakeholders remain our top priority,” EPRA insisted.
Fuel siphoning accidents, particularly those involving overturned fuel tankers, are a recurring and extremely dangerous problem in the country.
In the past, lives have been lost due to the habit of people rushing to siphon fuel from overturned tankers.
At least 111 people were killed and hundreds injured in Molo on the busy Nakuru-Eldoret highway on January 31, 2009, as they tried to scoop and siphon the fuel that they so desperately needed.
It was Kenya’s worst tanker fire which called on the government to review policies and directives regarding fuel transportation.
Despite the accident, some people have continued to siphon fuel products from overturned tankers putting their lives at risk.
