Senators have summoned the heads of the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA). Both failed to appear before the Senate Standing Committee on Energy on Tuesday, The Eastleigh Voice reported. The committee is investigating the health effects of the Thange oil spill in Makueni County. It has moved the inquiry to Thursday, November 19, and ordered both agency heads to attend.
Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Jnr presented the committee with test results from residents and environmental samples. He said a team led by Dr Cyrus Matheka sampled 10 sites and tested 229 residents. The team found petroleum residue in the soil and water. According to the governor, 61 per cent of those tested had abnormalities in the kidney, liver, bone marrow and blood.
Kilonzo said the contamination has spread up to 40 kilometres downstream. About 19,000 people live in the affected area. He added that most people going to hospital in Kibwezi East come from Thange. He warned that the effects could reach future generations, because residents still drink the water and grow crops there.
The governor called for criminal accountability. He said people should face prosecution over deaths linked to negligence. Oil distribution is a national function, he argued, so the burden should not fall on the county government. He asked the Ministry of Health to issue an enforceable public health report against KPC. He also urged senators to make KPC and NEMA explain why they have not addressed residents' concerns since 2015.
In a letter to the Clerk of the Senate, KPC said it stayed away because it is appealing a July 2025 ruling by the Makueni Environment and Land Court. That ruling ordered KPC and NEMA to pay affected residents more than Sh3 billion. The Court of Appeal has stayed the judgment. NEMA gave no reason for its absence.
Committee chairperson and Elgeyo Marakwet Senator William Kisang rejected KPC's explanation. "KPC cannot hide behind sub judice when the courts have already delivered judgments on this matter," Kisang said. He said both heads had failed to appear without a valid reason.
Health Principal Secretary Mary Muthoni told the committee that a statutory notice under Section 118 of the Public Health Act was ready. It would compel KPC to pay for health interventions for affected residents. However, the notice is still awaiting legal advice. The committee urged the ministry to issue it, noting that no court order blocks the move.
Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority Director General Edward Mwirigi Kinyua committed to independent sampling along the affected stretch. A multi-agency team will carry it out. The Energy, Health and Environment Cabinet Secretaries have also been invited to the November 19 sitting.