Recent fuel shortage in Eldoret ‘creation of cartels’

The fuel shortage experienced in Eldoret on Wednesday might have been artificial after all.

Speaking to The Standard, Kenya Pipeline Corporation Eldoret Manager, Kibitok Leting, said as far as they are concerned, there was no justifiable reason for the shortage.

Leting maintained that Pipeline's fuel tanks were full with all grades of fuel and passed the buck onto dealers.

"You should get hold of the various oil companies that alleged to have lacked the commodity and ask them what happened," he said.

The manager said, just like any other Kenyan, he could only speculate on the real reason behind the 'shortage' that saw motorists in Eldoret have a hectic time trying to make their way into the few stations that still had the precious commodity.

He could, however, not immediately establish the quantities consumed by Eldoret residents saying the Pipeline also serves other East African countries.

"We handle the region including Kigali, Rwanda and is thus hard to ascertain where the various tankers are headed to because someone might say they are going to Kitale and end up in Kapsabet," he said.

In the Wednesday incident, transport services almost came to a standstill, as motorists were forced to queue for hours to get service at one of the stations that had the commodity.