There are two things about Sinai fire tragedy that baffles PointBlank . One. Negligence. Kenya Pipeline Company has admitted that spillage of petroleum from two of its pipelines caused the tragedy. Managing director Selest Kilinda says immediate action was taken to avert disaster, but unfortunately the spillage had found its way to Mukuru-Sinai slums. That far, perhaps, KPC did its best. But as some have pointed out, the accident could have been averted had KPC heeded advice to upgrade its infrastructure.
But there is a bigger cause for concern. According to locals, it wasn’t the first time that KPC had let fuel to flow through the slum gutters. So when locals smelt fuel, as usual, they smelt cash. Why would KPC dispose fuel through open drainages in such a populated area?
Two. Greed. We are a greedy lot, and most likely won’t learn from this disaster where some died while clutching gallons of petrol.
We never learnt from the 2009 Sachang’wan tragedy that also killed up to 100 people. Soon we will definitely have another oil-fueled tragedy.