Owner of killer Embakasi gas plant convicted in 2020 for illegal activities, authority says

The owner of the gas facility that exploded in Nairobi on Thursday, killing at least three people and injuring hundreds, was arrested in 2020 over illegal operations, the Petroleum Institute of East Africa (PIEA) has said.

In a statement following a site visit, PIEA General Manager Wanjiku Manyara said the site in Mradi, Embakasi, is the very one over which a criminal case was instituted on November 9, 2020, against the business proprietor and his clients. They were booked under criminal case number E3776/2020 at the Milimani Law Courts in Nairobi.

"All the accused persons were found guilty and convicted, with a sentence issued on May 18, 2023," Manyara said.

She noted that despite the conviction and the High Court's recommendation of the mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison or a penalty of Sh10,000,000, the parties were released on more lenient terms.

"The Magistrate of Court Number 11 imposed total fines of Sh500,000 or a one-year imprisonment instead of Sh20,000,000 or five years for the proprietor (first accused) and a fine of Sh50,000 for the second accused instead of a fine of Sh10,000,000 or five years," Manyara said.

She added that the magistrate released all vehicles, including two LPG tankers and a confiscated LPG bulk with a net weight of 4,660 kg, despite the law's provision for their mandatory forfeiture.

"One of the LPG tankers [that was] unprocedurally released by the Courts was of registration number ZC 1286, which is one of the tankers involved in this incident," Manyara said.

"Despite the above actions and convictions, the proprietor continued operating the illegal storage and refilling facility without even the bare minimum safety standards and qualified LPG personnel, as required by law, leading to this unfortunate catastrophe which could have been avoided should the letter and spirit of the law have been followed," she said.

The PIEA boss further stated that the illegal site had been demolished twice after being found to be carrying out the illicit refilling of LPG cylinders belonging to other licensed brand owners.

Manyara cautioned the public against purchasing LPG cylinders from distributors and retailers who do not issue them with a receipt that should, as a minimum contain the date of purchase, name and contacts of the retailer, the LPG brand name and the cylinder serial number

."We wish to inform the public that the LPG storage and refilling plants of PIEA member facilities remain safe as great care is taken to ensure adherence to high safety standards," she said.

So far, three people have been confirmed dead and nearly 300 injured in the Mradi gas explosion.

One hundred and sixty seven victims - 142 adults and 25 children - have so far been treated at Mama Lucy Kibaki Hospital.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja said of the 167 people, 143 were treated and discharged, their conditions having been determined as stable. Sakaja said 24 critically wounded patients were rushed to different hospitals across the country. Seventeen were referred to the Kenyatta University Teaching, Referral and Research Hospital, and seven to Kenyatta National Hospital.

Mbagathi Hospital received 35 patients, 15 of whom were referred to KNH. Twenty were discharged.