This archive report was first published on 26 September 2019.
Kenya Pipeline Company has been at the center of a fuel scandal, with detectives uncovering a multimillion shilling oil racket at the company's Pump Station No 8 in Konza.
On Tuesday, a team of investigators led by Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti, Director of Public Prosecution Noordin Haji, and Kenya Revenue Authority Director-General James Mburu made an unannounced visit to the pump station to investigate the tie-in, which was not originally part of the new scandal-ridden Line 5 pipeline.
The tie-in, a connection of a pipeline to a facility, has automated valves and meters that allow easier monitoring of the amount of fuel that passes through. However, in this case, the valves were isolated electrically, and the oil movement was measured manually, resulting in no data captured on the amount of fuel released to the depot.
According to eyewitnesses, the investigators went straight to the control room and started gathering evidence. They were particularly interested in knowing how the tie-in was consummated and who authorized it.
It has emerged that the tie-in construction was supervised by a former KPC technician, and the automatic valves were isolated electrically by disconnecting the wires, making it easier to siphon fuel from the pipeline without leaving an electronic footprint.
The team also visited the metering area and left with some screen shots indicating that the valves were not being monitored. They wanted to know who gave instructions to isolate the valves, who in KPC supervised the works, and what the management knew.
Another area of interest was at both gates of the oil terminal, which records all the vehicles that leave and enter the facility. The investigators were keen to know who compromised the custody transfer at PS8.
Investigations have come at a time when a special audit on the integrity of the pipeline was demanded by oil marketing companies after KPC reported huge fuel losses in its system.
