Most petrol stations in Eldoret town and its environs on Monday witnessed a shortage of fuel, causing long queues in the few stations that still had the commodity.
It was no work for the stations that had no fuel.
Joseph Kibe, a worker at OLA petrol station in Eldoret town said the shortage was a result of the Kenya Pipeline supplying the commodity in small quantities.
Kibe said the situation had affected not only motorists but also farmers.
“Every petrol station has no fuel. Farmers are now facing a challenge of preparing their lands for planting because tractors need to be fueled to do that work,” he said.
Harrison, a bodaboda rider in Eldoret town, on his part, said the Ukraine-Russia war has contributed to the shortage. Russia is a major global export of oil.
“Now we are forced to use V-power which is sold at Ksh160 per liter. This type of fuel is always used by high-class vehicles,” said the bodaboda rider.
Petrol and diesel prices were set at different prices depending on the petrol station one was looking for fuel.
The price had however been hiked by up to Ksh15 per liter due to the shortage.
“When you go to buy petrol, you will find it at one petrol station and the other you will be told they don’t have. This has caused fluctuation in prices,” said another bodaboda operator.
Motorists also challenged the government to reign in and ensure unscrupulous traders don’t take advantage of the situation to arbitrarily hike the price.
Later in a statement to the press, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) said the shortage had been witnessed in North Rift and Western Kenya.
“The shortage is occasioned by unprecedented logistical constraints. These challenges have caused independent petroleum dealers to run out of petroleum stocks,” EPRA said in the statement.
It, however, assured that there were enough supplies of fuel in the country, hence no cause of alarm.
