Fuel shortage now hits President Uhuru Kenyattas backyard

Motorists were forced to park their cars at petrol stations in Gatundu following the fuel shortage that has hit the country after the 16pc tax was implemented.

According to Ben Njubi, a fuel attendant at one of the stations, they were idle for most of Thursday morning as there was no petrol or diesel to sell to their clients.

“We are worried because if it continues like this, some of us might lose jobs. We call upon the president to intervene,” Njubi said.

The situation was replicated in Embu where motorists also parked their vehicles at several petrol stations after running out of fuel.

Some who spoke to Citizen Digital said they had traversed the town in search of the scarce commodity but to no avail.

Passengers also expressed fear of being rendered immobile as public service vehicles (matatus) kept off the roads following the fuel shortage.

In Machakos Town, a spot check by Citizen TV revealed petrol stations running out of fuel and those with little amounts of the commodity experiencing long queues.

Boniface Mutunga, the owner of Kenol in Machakos, said they have no fuel and are still waiting for suppliers to resume delivery.

Gloria Kioko, who runs Kobil petrol station in the town,  also noted that there was very little fuel left in their pumps and they were likely to run out by mid morning.

The situation was similar at Shell Petrol Station with the manager Joseph Mutuku also saying their tanks would be empty in a few hours.

Report by Wanja Mbugua, Enock Muswii and Antony Muchiro