By Radarr Africa Business Desk
LAGOS, October 28 (Radarr Africa) – Kenyan President William Ruto has directed the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) to withdraw a court case that has delayed Sh3 billion in compensation for more than 3,000 people affected by a 2015 oil spill in Makueni County, Capital FM reported.
Ruto made the remarks on Monday in Machinery town, Kibwezi East Constituency, during a development tour of Ukambani, according to the report. The High Court awarded the compensation, and KPC’s legal case has delayed payment, Capital FM said.
The president said the government would pay the money directly to affected families and warned brokers against taking a share through law firms. He said they were collecting signatures from families and told them “They won’t get a cent”, Capital FM reported.
The spill happened on May 12, 2015, when a petroleum pipeline ruptured in Thange village in Kibwezi East and released fuel into the River Thange basin. It contaminated land and water sources. Some residents reportedly suffered liver and kidney problems, and the spill caused losses of livestock, crops and livelihoods, according to the report.
A court judgment delivered in July 2025 set out the sums involved, The Eastleigh Voice reported at the time. The Environment and Lands Court ordered KPC to pay Sh3,800,831,676 in assorted damages to residents affected by the spill, with payment due within 120 days.
Of that amount, Sh2.9 billion was to go to 3,075 residents and Sh900 million to the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) for clean-up and restoration, the newspaper reported. Liability was split 80% to KPC and 20% to NEMA.
The court found that KPC and NEMA had violated residents’ rights to a safe environment, dignity, life and access to information, according to the same report. It said KPC had blamed corrosion in a section of the Mombasa to Nairobi pipeline and criticised the company for ignoring residents’ complaints about visible corrosion for at least five years before the spill.
KPC had said it paid Sh38 million to 342 households through signed discharge vouchers. The judges declared the vouchers invalid because families did not receive enough information to decide properly, The Eastleigh Voice said.
The court also ordered KPC to restore the affected land, soil, water, wildlife and habitat in the Thange basin and to file a report with the court.
Muindi Kimeu, the lead petitioner, said after the ruling: “After a long wait, justice has been delivered.” Kamau Muthanwa, the petitioners’ lawyer, called the judgment a major victory for the people of Thange, the country and the environment, according to The Eastleigh Voice.
The two reports give different figures for the compensation. Capital FM referred to Sh3 billion for more than 3,000 people, while The Eastleigh Voice reported a total award of Sh3.8 billion, of which Sh2.9 billion was for 3,075 residents.
Capital FM did not say whether KPC has responded to the president’s directive, when the case would be withdrawn, or when payments would begin.
During the same tour, Ruto launched a Sh75 million Last Mile Electricity Connectivity Project at Kathekani that targets 530 households, Capital FM reported. It said projects worth Sh560 million are under way to connect 4,250 households in Kibwezi East, and that Sh2.3 billion has been allocated to connect 22,000 homes across Makueni County.
