3 Govt Employees Steal Ksh2 Million Fuel From Kenya Pipeline
Three Kenya Pipeline Company employees have been charged with stealing petroleum worth more than Ksh2 million.
Monday’s statement from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecution (ODPP) revealed that three (names withheld) stole 13,852 liters of motor spirit premium (MSP) from Kisumu Terminal.
Therefore, they were charged with theft the extremely valuable petroleum products as well as conspiracy to steal the MSP.
“Three employees of Kenya Pipeline Company were today arraigned before Kisumu Chief Magistrate for the offense of stealing petroleum products from Kenya Pipeline company – Kisumu terminal,” read the statement in part.
“The three are charged with conspiracy to steal 13,852 liters of motor spirit premium (MSP) valued at Ksh 2,431,178, a property of oil marketers’ companies, which was in the custody of the Kenya pipeline company.”
In their arguments, the prosecution argued against the release of the three defendants. The Office of the District Attorney argued that the crime committed by the accused was economic sabotage, which is illegal.
In his judgment, however, the chief magistrate noted that the right to bond is not absolute but is a right for all individuals.
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The defendants pleaded not guilty and were released on a Ksh 500,000 bond and a surety of the same amount.
On October 3, 2023, the case will be called for pretrial proceedings.
The arrest occurred weeks after the company contained an oil spill at the Kisumu Terminal after one of its pipelines ruptured.
“We got intelligence from a member of the public of a suspected hydrocarbon release at about 10 pm,” the company announced on September 6.
“We immediately mobilized our Emergency Response teams from our Kisumu Depot. The leak was contained in less than one-and-a-half hours.”
Over the years, KPC has exerted significant effort to contain losses caused by leaks along the conduit connecting Kipevu Terminal to Nairobi and Kisumu.
After 300,000 liters of oil worth Ksh70 billion inexplicably vanished in 2017, investigators launched a probe into the company. This scandal, which resulted in some senior officials being placed on administrative leave, has been the company’s largest scandal to date.
The lost petroleum was logged as a pipeline loss, for which costs are frequently passed on to the consumer.
3 Govt Employees Steal Ksh2 Million Fuel From Kenya Pipeline
