#Kenya Pipeline Company

The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has stopped an attempt to steal fuel from its pipeline in Mombasa County. Its security and pipeline maintenance teams found an illegal connection during routine surveillance on Monday, November 2. The connection was on the line linking Pumping Station 14 to Pumping Station 15. KPC announced the find in a statement on Tuesday. KPC officers secured the site and reported the matter to Chaani Police Station, which has opened an investigation. The Eastleigh Voice reported that specialist police teams are handling the case. The company said its teams secured the connection before any fuel could be siphoned. The Daily Nation reported that police had busted a suspected fuel-siphoning syndicate targeting the pipeline. Dinah Kirwa, a KPC general manager, confirmed that no fuel was lost. "Our officers have successfully managed to foil a criminal act which is currently under investigation by the relevant authorities," she said. Kirwa added that the monitoring teams…

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…