Josephat Mwangi Chege and Martin Njue Njeru denied the charges of operating a bulk Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facility, without a valid licence, and refilling various gas brands without consent of companies.
The two were charged that on January 12, 2021 jointly with others who were not before court, they were found conducting the business in a fenced facility at Kasuku area in Nyandarua West Sub-County without EPRA licencing.
They also faced a second count of transporting gas cylinders which they also denied.
Two people have been charged in a Nyahururu court with llegally refilling gas cylinders as the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) cracked down on unauthorised LPG dealers in Nyandarua and Laikipia counties.
Josephat Mwangi Chege and Martin Njue Njeru denied the charges of operating a bulk Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facility, without a valid licence, and refilling various gas brands without consent of companies, when they appeared before Resident Magistrate Cynthia Muhoro.
The two were charged that on January 12, 2021 jointly with others who were not before court, they were found conducting the business in a fenced facility at Kasuku area in Nyandarua West Sub-County without EPRA licencing.
They also faced a second count of transporting gas cylinders which they also denied.
The court heard that on January 12, this year, the two were arrested while transporting the cylinder with a truck that had not been licensed to transport the product.
During the court session, it was mentioned that Mr Njeru was transporting LPG cylinders while Mr Chege was in charge of operations, selling and refilling.
The prosecution presented 43 pieces of K-gas, 32 pieces of Oilibya, 58 pieces of Hashi gas, 100 pieces of Total gas, 558 dust cap seals and two K-gas dust cap seals among others, which were found in their possession without authorisation from brand owners.
The magistrate ordered that the two be detained until January 21, this year when the case will be mentioned.
According to section 74 (1) as read with section 74(3) (a) of the Petroleum Act no. 2 of 2019 of the Laws of Kenya, one should not operate a bulk Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) storage facility without a valid licence.
The Energy Petroleum and Regulatory Act, states that anyone found guilty of operating LPG cylinder storage exceeding 80 kilogrammes, will pay a fine of not less than one million or a maximum of one year in jail or both.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
