This archive report was first published on 29 July 2019.
Published on July 29, 2019, the Senate Energy Committee has directed the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) to investigate the roles of consultants and a contractor in a faulty pipeline project.
The project in question is the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) Line 5, which has been spilling oil products at Kiboko in Makueni County. The committee wants Epra to establish whether local consulting firm, Kurrent Technologies, and its partner Shanghai Little Engineering Company, are culpable for failing to install leak detectors in the pipeline.
Epra chief executive Robert Oimeke told the committee that their investigation had revealed that KPC failed to install a multi-layer leak detection system, contrary to initial designs described in an environmental impact assessment report.
Senator Ephraim Maina, chair of the committee, questioned why the responsible company officials should not be prosecuted, saying that the idea of not having a leak detector was deliberate.
Migori Senator Ochillo Ayacko added that serious offenses had been committed in the project and that someone should be in jail.
The committee also wants action taken against KPC for failing to provide clean water to the residents of Makueni months after the spillage was noted and an environmental impact assessment done.
