NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 26 – Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has accused the Government of using security agencies and regulatory authorities to harass and drive small-scale liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) traders out of business.

📻 Breaking It Down

Gachagua claimed that hundreds of thousands of small-scale gas retailers had been subjected to arbitrary arrests, seizures of gas cylinders and what he described as systematic economic harassment.

In a statement on Wednesday, the Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP) leader alleged that more than 200,000 gas cylinders had been seized from traders in Nairobi, Kiambu, Kajiado and Machakos counties between June and October last year.

He claimed the seizures were carried out by a clandestine police unit operating from Hurlingham, Nairobi, which he alleged was not gazetted.

📌 What You Need to Know

Gachagua accused Deputy Inspector General of Police Eliud Lagat and a private citizen, Clive Mutiso, of being behind the alleged operations, claiming the unit had conducted raids on LPG businesses using police officers and private vehicles.

He alleged that the seized cylinders were taken away without proper inventories being prepared, police occurrence book entries being made or affected traders being taken to court.

The former Deputy President said the alleged crackdown amounted to economic sabotage of small traders, arguing that the Government had abandoned the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda under which President William Ruto was elected in 2022.

He said millions of Kenyans depend on micro and small enterprises, including shops, kiosks and market stalls, for their livelihoods.

According to Gachagua, the LPG sector had become one of the latest areas in which small traders were facing pressure from powerful interests.

He also cited President Ruto’s 2023 pledge to lower the price of a six-kilogramme gas cylinder to between Sh300 and Sh500, saying the promise had not translated into the relief expected by consumers and traders.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya