Police have so far arrested four suspects linked with bearing the greatest responsibility for Thursday night’s gas explosion in Mradi, Embakasi East, which killed six people and injured nearly 300 others.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) on Tuesday morning said detectives have arrested the main suspect Derrick Kimathi, the proprietor of the illegal gas-filling plant who surrendered to the police on Monday, alongside three National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) officials.
“These are David Ongare (Director of Environment Compliance), Joseph Makau (Head of Environmental Impact Assessment) and Mirrian Kioko,” the DCI said in a statement.
The investigative agency said it was still pursuing five other suspects at large and appealed for leads from members of the public.
The suspects include Stephen Kilonzo, the site manager, Ann Kabiri Mirungi and Lynette Cheruyoit of NEMA, truck driver Robert Gitau and another driver identified as Abraham Mwangi.
The NEMA officials have since been suspended for allegedly issuing a license illegally to Kimathi’s company.
On Monday morning, there had been reports of suspected gas leakage at the spot where Thursday’s explosion occurred, but a multi-agency team led by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) later allayed the fears.
Thursday’s incident occurred after a lorry carrying gas cylinders exploded at around 11:30 p.m., sending a large fireball in the air.
As of early Monday afternoon, six people had died from burn injuries while seven more were in critical condition, according to Government Spokesperson Isaac Mwaura.
