The National Environment Management Authority (Nema) has walked back on a 2018 directive that had given oil polluted River Thange in Makueni County a clean bill of health.
The agency on Friday confirmed that soil and water sources in the area were still contaminated with oil.
The environment agency directed the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) to clean the environment polluted by oil from its punctured pipeline.
The leakage was first discovered in 2015, prompting a raft of measures to restore the environment.
"Citizens have a right to a clean environment. From Monday, we shall look into the restoration order so that KPC will undertake proper clean-up and follow the laws and regulations that are in place to safeguard citizens. We shall relook the whole thing now that we have new evidence coming up. We shall not allow citizens to utilise this environment in its current form," Nema boss Boru Mano told reporters when the agency toured the affected region in the company of the Senate Energy Committee and local leaders.
National Environment Management Authority (Nema) boss Boru Mamo (right) speaks with Muthusi Kimondiu, a member of the Nema board, at Thange in Makueni County on May 2, 2025. Nema ordered the Kenya Pipeline Company to clean the region, which is contaminated with oil after a spill in 2015.
Photo credit: Pius Maundu | Nation
Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga, who chairs the committee, said the team had led senators in pilling pressure on Nema to order KPC to clean the polluted environment.
The visit followed the growing outcry after the community reported increasing cases of deaths, and liver and kidney diseases. Medical reports seen by the Nation link the diseases to the oil spill.
This is what prompted Thange MCA Eric Katumo to seek a statement from the Makueni County Assembly Environment Committee and write to KPC and Nema seeking urgent intervention.
He was backed by Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior, Makueni Senator Daniel Maanzo and Kibwezi East MP Jessica Mbalu who called on the two government agencies to clean the affected environment afresh and compensate the community.
An economic and social impact report compiled by Panafcon Consultants Ltd, a company contracted by KPC, spells doom in the region which was once a regional horticulture hub. The report, seen by the Nation shows that 161 out of the 1,071 sampled residents had contracted diseases caused by benzene and toluene poisoning.
Edward Muia, a teacher who was among those who had tested positive to benzene and toluene poisoning after KPC screened Thange residents in 2016, died following complications linked to liver and kidney diseases , according to his widow, Agnes Kandi.
Makueni Governor Mutula Kilonzo Junior leads a delegation of the Senate Energy Committee at Thange in Makueni County on May 2, 2025. The Senate Energy Committee asked the Kenya Pipeline Company to clean the region which is contaminated with oil after a spill in 2015.
Photo credit: Pius Maundu | Nation
Dr Oginga and the other senators watched in disbelief as a team set up by Mr Kilonzo Jnr to evaluate the impact of the oil spill on the environment on Friday struck oil in three new shallow wells it sunk in the affected region.
Dr Oginga said the committee had perused multiple official reports indicating that the Thange region has had a toll on the health and livelihoods of the local community. He called on KPC to take responsibility.
In an April 30, 2025 letter to the Senate Energy Committee, KPC has maintained that it had acted responsibly after the 2015 oil spillage.
"KPC undertook detailed site clean-up and remediation of the affected region using both internal and external expertise for over three years. Arising from the clean-up actions and KPC having proved restoration of the site, Nema issued KPC with a scale down and decommissioning order dated February 22, 2018 and July 14, 2021," KPC boss Joe Sang said in the letter seen by the Nation.
Mr Sang also revealed that some 342 Thange households had received Sh38 million as compensation from KPC.
"Let us not deny what happened to this region. Let us face it. Government agencies must take responsibility. KPC as the polluter must do its part. It is not enough to say we are compensating these people for the loss of livelihoods. What about the effects on health, which we are seeing 10 years later? Years to come this community will be extinct. We must act now," nominated Senator Beatrice Ogola said.
Through its environment officer Ibrahim Adan, KPC further downplayed the impact of the oil spill.
"We have been doing monthly, quarterly and now annual tests. The latest sampling test results were from the first week of April, between 4th to 7th of April, and the results from that water and soil analysis clearly indicates there is no presence of hydrocarbons in the soil and water sources. We are regularly monitoring the sites. If there is anything that requires our intervention, as a responsible corporate entity, we are always available to intervene," Mr Adan told reporters.
