Motorists in Bomet on Tuesday grappled with a fuel shortage for the third day running.
Illegal fuel vendors are making a killing from desperate motorists. The dealers vend petrol at Sh180 per litre in the hidden backstreet pumps. A litre of petrol is supposed to retail at Sh120.
A check in some fuel pumps in the town and major trading centres revealed there has been a scarcity of the commodity since Sunday.
It is not clear what led to the shortage. Petrol station owners said, “We have only been told to wait as there is no fuel in depots.”
An interview with a manager in one of the petrol stations in Sotik said they run out of stock on Saturday and are waiting for word from their suppliers.
“We have no option but to wait until we get supply. We have made calls and the response is to wait a little longer as the depots in Kisumu also don’t have fuel,” petrol station attendant Samsom Kirui said.
Matatu operators in the region have hiked fares following the shortage.
Illegal fuel dealers have also infiltrated the area. Some were seen selling the commodity to boda boda operators in Silibwet. They said they had to come to the “rescue” of the motorists. “We travel long distances as far as Nakuru, Kisii and Nairobi to get this product that is why we are selling it a high price,” one said.
A litre of petrol is Sh102 in Bomet, while diesel goes for Sh92 in the latest retail prices released by the Energy Regulatory Authority.
