A fresh fuel shortage has hit several parts of the country, with Nairobi bearing the brunt as motorists spend hours in queues in search of petrol and diesel.
The situation, which began earlier this week, has seen many filling stations run dry, with the problem stretching into Wednesday morning. A spot check across different areas shows the shortage is not limited to the capital, but Nairobi remains the hardest hit.
Along Thika Superhighway, long lines of vehicles formed at the few stations still selling fuel, with queues spilling onto service lanes and causing traffic disruptions near the Survey area. Some matatu operators said they were forced to suspend operations after failing to secure fuel.
“I’ve been here three times and checked several stations, but most don’t have fuel,” one frustrated motorist said. “I heard this one might still have a little, so I’m trying my luck.”
A similar scenario was witnessed in Eastern Bypass, where some service stations did remain operational but without any fuel to sell to motorists. Some stations in Rongai started rationing fuel to customers based on the fear of a complete shortage in future.
Other locations that are being hit hard include Embakasi, South C and Lang’ata, where some service stations reported shortage of diesel, while there is only very little petrol available in the stations.
This comes in a period when EPRA is preparing for their monthly evaluation of the prices of fuel ahead of setting new retail prices.
The situation is believed to be caused by logistics problems. According to some stakeholders in the industry, there has been an issue with some vessels containing fuel that failed to get clearance on time at the port of Mombasa.
These findings have been substantiated by KEBS, which revealed that the delays were because of non-conformity of some documents.
