CS Wandayi dismisses Gachagua's claims on illegal LPG crackdown

Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has dismissed allegations by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua over the government’s crackdown on illegal Liquified Petroleum Gas (LPG) trade, accusing him of politicising a public safety matter.

Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, CS Wandayi said the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), working alongside security agencies, was enforcing regulations aimed at curbing illegal refilling and trading of LPG cylinders.

He also defended EPRA officials named by Gachagua and warned politicians against interfering with officers carrying out their statutory duties.

“The government will not succumb to pressure from politicians and cartels hell-bent on benefiting from illicit LPG trade. We shall not succumb to any form of pressure from these illegal traders even if they choose to work in cahoots with Gachagua," Wandayi stated. 

"In fact, we shall be relentless in pursuing you in the interest of public safety. Anybody out there engaging in illegal filling of LPG cylinders, your hour of reckoning is coming."

Further, the CS rejected Gachagua’s claim that a company had already been awarded a contract to implement a national LPG cylinder tracking system.

“For avoidance of doubt, such a process is far from completion. You heard him talk about a company that has been given a contract to do this tracing of gas cylinders. That can only be a figment of his imagination. In fact, the people who are advising Gachagua should do a better job,” he noted.

Wandayi maintained that the procurement process for the proposed tracking system was still ongoing.

Wandayi's rebuttal came just hours after Gachagua held a press conference in Karen where he claimed that more than 200,000 gas cylinders had been seized from small-scale LPG traders in Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado and Machakos between June and October 2025.

The Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) alleged that some of the seized cylinders were later diverted to private and upcoming LPG businesses associated with politicians and state officials.

Gachagua further claimed that some of the cylinders had been distributed to residents during the Ol Kalou by-election, demanding that the government return the seized cylinders and compensate the affected traders.

He also named senior EPRA officials - among them Acting Director General Joseph Oketch and Deputy Director for Surveillance and Enforcement Maj. (Rtd.) Augustine Ouma - whom he accused of involvement in the alleged scheme and called for their arrest and prosecution.