Energy and Petroleum CS Opiyo Wandayi and Energy PS Alex Wachira addressing the press on June 3, 2026 at Kawi Complex south C in Nairobi. [Edward Kiplimo, Standard]
Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has dismissed claims by some opposition leaders of a deliberate government campaign to frustrate small-scale liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) traders.
The CS dismissed as baseless claims by former Deputy President and DCP party leader Rigathi Gachagua that a special police squad targets small LPG traders through unwarranted raids on their business premises.
Gachagua earlier this week claimed the unit conducted raids between June and October 2025 in Kajiado, Nairobi, Kiambu, and Machakos counties, confiscating over 200,000 gas cylinders.
"No inventory was conducted, no police occurrence book (OB) was recorded, and nobody was taken to court,” he claimed. “Where are these 200,000 cylinders?”
Gachagua referred to the Energy Act, 2019, saying the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) is responsible for conducting such raids.
He further claimed that a senior official at EPRA is feeding information to this rogue police unit about the locations of their businesses to facilitate the raids.
Similar raids were also reportedly conducted in the North Rift, Nyanza and Western regions. The gas cylinders were then stored at Kakamega Police Station.