Flammable liquid oozes from Juma quarry

Kiahuria villagers in Juja, Kiambu county, are thrilled after a flammable liquid suspected to be oil started dripping in a quarry. It oozed and in some places gushed.

The liquid coming from a section of Liban quarry has a diesel-like odour that can be felt smelt meters from the quarry.

Residents and workers at the quarry who spoke to the press on Wednesday said the liquid started oozing from underground in October last year when a road was being constructed by the quarry investor.

“We could smell it but we didn't know what it was until we drew it out and lit it. It’s flammable,”  resident Samuel Wekesa said. He has already drawn fife litres and stored it.

Residents want the government to send experts to the village to determine if they're sitting on a black gold deposit.

“This might be a Godsend gift to unchain us from the shackles of poverty,” resident David Njoroge said.

“We hope it’s natural oil because we will surely get employment in the company that will drill, as is happening in Turkana. This region’s economy will be boosted,” resident Denis Okiria said.

Juja subcounty police commander Dorothy Migarusha said that police have contacted geologists from Nyeri who will determine the amount and nature of the liquid.

“We received information from the management of this quarry that there was a liquid substance that was dripping in their quarry suspected to be oil. We have called for geologist officers to come and determine what kind of liquid it is,” she said.

The police boss also said that if it’s oil, it might be coming from underground storage tanks used by white settlers on their farms.

Kiahuria village was owned by the whites who used to conduct extensive coffee farming before Independence.

“We’ve witnessed other cases of underground oil storage reservoirs being found in areas like Makuyu in Murang’a county that were used by the white settlers before Independence. So this might be a similar case. But we cannot make a conclusion now until the relevant authorities ascertain what it is,” Migarusha said.

Police cordoned off the area as a precautionary measure since the liquid is flammable.

By press time, experts had not arrived at the scene.

In 2012, British oil exploration company Tullow Oil discovered oil in Turkana estimated to be 560 million barrels. Last year Kenya exported 200,000 barrels of crude oil.

(Edited by V. Graham)