Towns in Teso North, Busia, have since Saturday been facing acute shortage of fuel.
The towns include Malaba, Amagoro, Ang'urai, Moding, Osia, Malakisi and market centres along the Malaba-Busia road.
On Sunday, only two out of the eight stations in Malaba town had fuel.
The two in Amagoro had no fuel.
Ang'urai, Moding, Osia and Malakisi had insufficient fuel forcing motorists and boda boda riders to travel as far as Malaba to buy the product.
Others said they fuelled in Bungoma.
Shell, the main fuel station where the majority of motorists fuel in Malaba received additional fuel on Sunday evening.
On Monday morning a survey by the Star revealed that only two fuel stations in the town had fuel.
Shell had petrol and diesel, but the other station had only petrol.
Dealers whose fuel pumps were closed claimed there was insufficient supply at the Kenya Pipeline Company depot in Eldoret.
The majority of the dealers said they sourced the product from Eldoret.
Officials at Shell station in Malaba said the additional fuel they received on Sunday was sourced from the company’s Nairobi depot.
The officials, who did not want to be named, said the firm has adequate fuel in its depots across the country and assured residents of the town of steady supply.
They, however, said the demand was high.
On Sunday public transporters, including boda bodas, hiked their transport charges due to the shortage.
For a distance where travellers usually pay Sh50, the fare was hiked to Sh100.
Residents are now worried of a likely increase in the cost of living as a result of the shortage.
Some motorists from Uganda also depend on fuel stations in Malaba, Kenya. Currently, fuel is more expensive in Malaba, Uganda.
OIL SPILL EFFECT
Affected fuel dealers attribute the shortage to the recent oil spill after a pipeline burst in Kisumu.
They said the development had destabilised Kenya Pipeline Company operations in Eldoret.
The spillage, dealers said, had affected steady fuel supply. However, Kenya Pipeline Company said the burst did not affect supply across the country and the region.
In a statement on Friday, KPC managing director Macharia Irungu said the country has adequate fuel stock.
“We wish to assure the public that the [oil spillage] incident has not affected petroleum products availability both in the country and region. We have sufficient stocks for all the grades across our depots countrywide,” he said.
KPC said the oil spillage was detected along the Sinendet-Kisumu pipeline in Kanyamedha at around 12.30am.
Edited by A.N
