Hoarding petrol at home disaster in waiting as fuel shortage rages

Motorists queuing to fuel at a petrol station in Mombasa. [Omondi Onyango, Standard]

As they carry jerrycans full of petrol to their homes, boda boda riders are staring at possible fires even as they continue with their transport business.

In all the counties that have been hit by a petrol shortage, the riders have been buying the fuel in jerrycans and storing the highly flammable gasoline at home.

The shortage has also seen farmers in South and North Rift suspend ploughing farms as rains start.

“I am keeping the petrol in a jerrycan so that my customers do not get stranded. Some of my colleagues are also keeping petrol in their homes and selling it to motorists for a higher profit,” said Mr Joseph Mbugua, a rider in Kitengela.

A young man was spotted in Nanyuki town buying a litre of fuel at Sh136 and later selling it at Sh170 to a stalled motorist.

Mr John Mwai said he has been making money from selling fuel to motorists avoiding long queues at the fuel stations.

“I bought 20 litres of petrol on Friday night and got boda boda riders in need of the fuel barely hours after and sold a litre at Sh170,” Mr Mwai said.

He added that there are dealers employing youth to buy fuel using five-litre plastic containers and later sell to motorists at a higher price.

Disaster Management Expert Bilha Wanjiku from the Murang’a County Government said the trend should be discouraged, saying it is a disaster in waiting.

“Nobody is allowed to keep flammable material in their houses. People should not take advantage of the situation as petrol can trigger fires and cause damage,” Ms Wanjiku said.

Laikipia East Deputy County Commissioner Patrick Muli warned petrol station attendants against selling the product to youthful individuals who have the ulterior motive of reselling for profit.

“Let the public know it is extremely dangerous for anybody to store petrol in their homes,” Mr Muli said, adding that some of the stations have heeded advice from the Sub-County Disaster Committee and stopped selling petrol to customers with plastic containers.

Rider Peter Kamau said he has been queuing for fuel without success and had to “devise ways to put food on the table”.

Mr Kamau said he has had problems finding fuel since Saturday, which he says has hurt his business.

Mr Maina Kagonye from Gatanga said: “The problem has pushed the transport sector into problems, and thus the need for the users to be innovative.”

A police officer restraining two men in a queue at a petrol station in Nakuru, April 4, 2022. [Harun Wathari, Standard]

In Bungoma and Kakamega counties some matatu drivers on the Webuye-Kakamega route said they were paying Sh300 per litre of petrol.

“I was forced to pay Sh300 when my vehicle got stuck near Webuye. A man carrying a 10L jerrycan said he could sell me nothing less than five litres and I gave out the cash because there was no other way out,” said matatu driver Isaac Lijiti.

Unscrupulous individuals are buying fuel in jerrycans and selling it to motorists at exorbitant prices.

Farmers halt business

In Nakuru and Baringo counties, farmers have halted their operations as the fuel shortage continues.

Mr Nicholas Bowen, the chairperson of Marigat Farmers’ Cooperative Society in Baringo County, said farmers continue to suffer. He said all their eight tractors had stalled due to lack of fuel.

Mr Bowen said not all members had prepared their land.

“Not even a single tractor is in the field. Some of us are yet to prepare land for planting.”

Most farmers in Marigat are contracted by seed firms, including Kenya Seed. Mr Bowen said that as a Society they are expected to prepare 2,000 acres but they have only completed 1,500 acres, despite having received seeds already.

He said more than 2,000 Society members in Perkerra Irrigation Scheme were to grow their own crops but with the fuel crisis, little will be achieved. Mr Bowen said generators along River Perkerra which pump water into farms have gone silent due to lack of fuel.

Farmers in the area rely on irrigation and cannot do much without fuel to run the generators.

Farmer Wairimu Kanyiri in Molo said crops are wilting.

She said pest control in farms has become difficult as some farmers have resorted to spraying manually instead of using machines.

“We are already experiencing the high cost of farm input and now coupled with the issue of fuel, we expect production to come down,” Ms Kanyiri said.

In Kisumu, fuel agents were forced to regulate the amount of fuel sold to each customer. [Benjamin Sakwa, Standard]

 

Mr Samson Bett, a resident of Nandi who leases out his machinery, said he sometimes accesses fuel from pedestrian traders at a higher cost, forcing him to increase the cost of ploughing.

The initial tillage cost was Sh3,000 per acre, but due to the shortage of fuel, the service providers have hiked the cost to between Sh3,500 and Sh4,000.

“It has been a challenge to get diesel. Normally we opt for the little fuel hawked in the rural areas at costs ranging from Sh150 to Sh180 per litre up from the usual Sh116. We have no alternative other than to adjust the cost of our services,” Mr Bett said.

Gilbert Tirop, a farmer from Mosop, the major maize growing zone in Nandi, said he was forced to wait a little longer to plant maize in his 10-acre plot after lacking a tractor.

“Planting machines are now grounded and going by the scarce fuel, this year I would plant a little bit late than usual,” said Mr Tirop, saying the shortage will hurt production due to late planting.

In Kisumu, fuel agents were forced to regulate the amount of fuel sold to each customer. Some decided to serve their regular customers on a limited fuel amount of seven litres per public service vehicle.

Mr Walter Kipkoech said he covered more than 80km from Kericho in search of fuel but was still stranded at a filling station since 3am on Monday.

Mr Emmanuel Lang’at said he hitched a lift from Ahero town to Kisumu after running out of fuel.

Fuel stock in Kenya. [Infographics: The Standard Checkpoint]

Stranded motorists

Nandi’s Noah Kiprop said he has been selling a litre of super petrol to stranded motorists at Sh250 and Sh200 for a litre of diesel.

“It is good business for me. I had to temporarily stop my boda boda operation because I am hoping I will make more money if the situation persists,” he said.

In Kisii town, some filling stations have closed shop. Total filling station on the Kisii-Kilgoris road sealed off business.

A litre of V-power was trading at Sh161 while motorists were only allowed to fill their cars with a maximum of Sh2,000 worth of fuel.

Mr George Nyariki, a fuel dealer in Keroka, Nyamira County, also closed his business. “The government should come out and explain what could be happening,” he said.

In Mbita, Homa Bay County, a litre of petrol was trading at Sh200 and the equivalent was going at Sh215 in Asumbi. Those buying fuel using jerrycans were only allowed to carry away five litres.

In Taita Taveta County, the fuel shortage disrupted operations in government offices and businesses.

Dozens of motorists are now looking to neighbouring Tanzania where fuel is reported to be in plenty.

County Secretary Liverson Mghendi said the shortage has hurt services. 

Mr William Mghaa, a resident, said motorists are buying fuel from Tanzania.

A director with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kenneth Zenge, said businesses have seriously been affected. In Mombasa, motorists lined up in queues in petrol stations where fuel was still available.

Mohammed Ali, an official at the National Oil petrol station on Digo Road, said most of the stations had ordered the fuel but were yet to receive it.

“Whenever we ask our bosses what was happening, we are told the order had been made and they were waiting,” Mr Ali said.

 [Report by Boniface Gikandi, Julius Chepkwony, Edward Kosut, Nathan Ochunge, Juliet Omelo, Eric Abuga, Anne Atieno and Wilis Okech]