By Hassan Wekesa - Editor
Kenya, 11 October 2026 - Some residents of the villages neighbouring the riverbanks of the River Nyando in Kisumu County are eating fish caught after fuel leaked into the water from a Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) line.
Health concerns are mounting, while Kisumu Governor Prof Anyang’ Nyong’o on Friday demanded an impartial investigation into the fuel leak.
The leak, reported on 8 October 2026, occurred on the Sinendet-Kisumu petroleum pipeline, which runs beside the river near Muhoroni, Kibigori and Ahero. Some locals risked their lives trying to collect fuel floating on the water. Others have since been catching and eating fish from the affected stretch.
In their initial response, KPC officials suspected that the leak was caused by intentional interference with the line. They have since alerted detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) to investigate and arrest any culprits.
Accounts of what exactly happened differ. It was first reported that the pipeline was damaged while workers dug to build gabions on the riverbank to curb erosion ahead of the El Niño rains.
However, on Friday last week, other residents near the affected section claimed that Kenya Railways workers maintaining the railway line struck the pipe with an excavator, exposing it to leakage. Detectives will be able to establish what exactly happened, whether it was the result of gabion construction, accidental breakage by railway workers or intentional tampering with the line.
On 9 October 2026, Governor Nyong’o called for impartial investigations and fair compensation for residents around Kibigori and Muhoroni. He said the reported spill from KPC infrastructure poses serious risks to public health, the environment, livelihoods and critical national infrastructure.
He urged the agencies to establish the facts quickly and professionally, without prejudging the outcome, and to ensure accountability where wrongdoing is proved. He insisted that containment, clean-up, environmental assessments and remediation proceed without delay. The extent of contamination and the risks to water sources, ecosystems, public health and livelihoods must be established, he said, with clear public guidance on precautions.
All affected individuals, households, farmers and businesses should receive fair compensation for verified losses, in a process that is transparent, accessible and sensitive to vulnerable households, the governor added.
He commended KPC’s initial response but said the company and relevant agencies must strengthen safeguards through better surveillance, routine integrity inspections, detection of unauthorised interference, prompt reporting and coordinated emergency response. He urged residents to remain calm, cooperate with authorities and share credible information with investigators.
One thing is clear: the residents are facing a chemical incident, which the World Health Organization (WHO) describes as an uncontrolled release of a toxic substance, potentially resulting in harm to public health and the environment.
WHO further explains that chemical incidents can occur as a result of natural events or as a result of accidental or intentional events.
“These incidents can be sudden and acute or have a slow onset when there is a ‘silent’ release of a chemical. They can also range from small releases to full-scale major emergencies,” WHO states.
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These chemical incidents can be caused by anthropogenic or technological events. Besides oil spills and leaks from storage units during transportation, other chemical incidents include explosions at factories that store or use chemicals, contamination of the food or water supply with a chemical, deliberate release of chemicals in conflict or terrorism, and outbreaks of disease associated with chemical exposure.
Between 2009 and 2018 alone, about 65,000 people died as a result of technological events.
A fuel leak poses a major health risk because crude oil contains polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), and these carry over into refined products such as diesel, super petrol and jet fuel, which the Sinendet-Kisumu line transports. Several PAHs are genotoxic and carcinogenic. Fuels also contain benzene, for which Kenya’s Onshore National Contingency Plan sets a worker exposure limit of 1 part per million over eight hours. The plan also notes that light products such as diesel and jet fuel are more acutely toxic than heavier oils.
River Nyando is a freshwater, non-navigable water body, and most of the fish there are teleosts, or bony fish. According to scientific researchers, teleost fish can metabolise PAHs efficiently, breaking them down and excreting them. This typically leaves lower residues in their edible flesh than in shellfish and, in principle, reduces the risk to people who eat them.
That does not make fish from fuel-affected water safe. Metabolism may not keep pace with heavy or continuing exposure, and oil can taint flesh and contaminate gills and guts. There are also religious constraints, with strict restrictions on fish caught from contaminated water bodies. For that and other reasons, public health agencies advise against eating fish that are visibly oiled, smell of fuel, behave oddly or show sores. As of publication, no test results on fish from the Nyando have been announced following the recent oil spillage.
Health officials normally sample fish from the spill area, measure PAH levels and check for taint before deciding on advisories or closures. Governor Nyong’o has called for clear public guidance on precautionary measures.
The National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) is the lead agency for onshore spills under the Onshore National Contingency Plan, prepared in January 2020.
The plan holds the responsible party liable for damages and response costs, and requires it to contain and clean up the spill to NEMA’s satisfaction. Any spill of four litres or more that reaches a water body must be reported to NEMA at once and in writing within three working days. The public can report spills on 0786 101 100 or 0741 101 100.
The plan warns against containing petrol or jet fuel spills on water because of fire and explosion risks, and does not recommend dispersants in freshwater. It also provides for post-spill monitoring where commercial fisheries and human health are affected. Claims for damages are presented first to the responsible party or its insurer.
The petrol leak comes a month after another leak at Kibigori. In September, residents with homesteads near the railway station were advised not to cook in their homes to reduce the risk of fire, while specialists tried to contain the spill. KPC served food to residents in a tent. Several experts were injured when fuel in the pipes ignited, and residents insist that at least three people died. Dawan Africa could not obtain official confirmation from KPC, whose acting Managing Director is Pius Mwendwa.
The 122-kilometre Line 6, running from Sinendet in Nakuru County to the KPC Kisumu Depot near Kibos, suffered at least three major spillages between 2017 and 2022. In 2025, KPC began preparing to overhaul defective sections, acknowledging that the once-reliable line had become prone to leaks. The route has a six-inch pipe built in 1992 and a newer ten-inch line. It supplies western Kenya, the Kisumu Oil Jetty, and Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi and South Sudan. Residents claim that inspections are less frequent than before.
“As the production and use of chemicals continues to increase worldwide, the health sector must expand its traditional roles and responsibilities to be able to address the public health and medical issues associated with the use of chemicals and their health effects,” WHO warns.