Families demand compensation as Pipeline officials visit contaminated areas of Kibwezi

Tomatoes whither as a result of the oil spill in Thange village in Kibwezi, Makueni County.

MAKUENI: Five months after the oil spill in Kibwezi, top Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) officials and local leaders finally visited the affected area on Wednesday. KPC chairman John Ngumi and acting Managing Director Flora Okoth landed at Mtito Andei in a helicopter from Nairobi and were driven to Thange in Kibwezi East constituency.

Their convoy comprising area leaders led by County Governor Kivutha Kibwana and area MP Jessica Mbalu snaked its way into the heart of the spillage a kilometre off the main road. They visited the area after residents blocked the highway to protest the oil spill. A scheduled Senate Committee visit to the site next week further prompted the leaders tour of the area.