Fire probe ignored victims, says lobby

Photo/ FILE

Mr Paul Muite who is the victims' lawyer said they would go to court after they finalise their findings.

What you need to know:

  • Group says pipeline company is liable for the damage caused to the residents of the Nairobi slum

Investigations by the Kenya Pipeline Corporation (KPC) into the Sinai fire that killed more than 100 people and injured 160 others ignored the human cost, a watchdog organisation has said.

Pamoja Trust executive director Steve Ouma Akoth criticised the investigations report into the September 12, 2011 city slum tragedy, saying it did not take into consideration the people whose lives were destroyed due to what he claimed was KPC negligence.

“This kind of computation undertaken by KPC did not consider the people whose lives have been destroyed. There can be no discussion about the impact of an incident of such magnitude without paying attention to how the common wananchi (citizens) were affected,” he said.

The organisation says KPC should be liable to the damage caused to residents of Sinai slum, where the leakage resulted in involuntary evictions and displacement of hundreds of families.

The report said the company lost Sh103 million in the fire in the form of fuel spilt, transportation of the spilt product, cost of environmental reinstatement, lost business hours, lost man hours and media expenses but failed to pay attention to the lives affected.

More than 100 people perished and 160 were injured in the tragedy, which remains one of the worst in the country.

“We have established that most of the victims were deprived of their well-being, wealth, habitat and human rights and KPC should be liable,” Mr Akoth said in a statement.

“KPC should be aware of the legal dictum that explicitly provides that any person who accumulates dangerous products on his land, which upon escape causes damage to the neighbours, is liable for the damage caused.”

The findings of the investigations are expected to trigger compensation suits from victims.

Mars Group Kenya has already called for the compensation of the victims, saying there is circumstantial evidence of gross corporate negligence on the part of the parastatal. They want a class lawsuit against the company for manslaughter.

The victims’ lawyer, Mr Paul Muite, who is working with Pamoja Trust, said they would go to court once they finalise their findings.

Six months after the inferno, residents of Sinai slums have kept off the scene of the tragedy.

Mr Aggrey Visaka, who lost a daughter, said the tragedy remains a lesson for residents.

He and his wife, who sustained burns on most of her body, have since moved from the area.

The casual labourer welcomed last week’s KPC report that showed that the company was at fault for letting the spilt oil find its way to the storm drain.

Affected residents want the government to compel the company to compensate them for damages.

“We hope that the company will now be compelled to compensate us for our losses,” said My George Njoroge, who lost two children in the fire and is now jobless.