TURBO MP VISITS VICTIMS OF JUAKALI TANKER EXPLOSION AT MTRH
Sitienei appealed to MTRH CEO Dr. Philip Kirwa to consider patients who had not yet registered for the Social Health Authority (SHA).
Photo: Courtesy.
By Robert Mutasi
Turbo Member of Parliament Janet Sitienei on Friday visited survivors of the Turbo fuel tanker explosion at the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) in Eldoret, where she said most of the patients were in stable condition.
Sitienei said she had gone to the hospital to see patients from the unfortunate incident that happened at Juakali, Turbo, along the Eldoret-Webuye highway.
“We have visited those in the ward. We have nine in the ward. And we have ten in the ICU unit. They are in stable condition. They are doing quite well except for two that are still being monitored,” the MP said.
The MP thanked the MTRH team, especially those in the ICU and wards, noting that she had visited each bed and that many patients, including those in ICU, were responsive and could be identified when called by name.
Two people were killed and 22 others were receiving treatment after a petroleum tanker exploded along the Eldoret-Turbo Road near Paul Boit Secondary School on Thursday night, September 17, 2026. The victims are suspected to have died while attempting to collect fuel from the tanker after it was involved in an accident. MTRH Chief Executive Officer Dr Philip Kirwa on Friday said 22 survivors had been admitted, while Senior Director of Clinical Services Dr Andrew Wandera said the hospital had received 23 patients in total.
Appeal on SHA registration
Sitienei appealed to MTRH CEO Dr. Philip Kirwa to consider patients who had not yet registered for the Social Health Authority (SHA).
She said the 48-hour window had elapsed for some, and that many victims had lost their IDs and phones during the inferno, making registration and renewal of lines a challenge for parents.
“We want to request that the SHA team should consider their registration so that SHA can be able to cater for their bills,” she said.
The MP also thanked residents who turned up to donate blood after an appeal by the Uasin Gishu Governor, noting that the burn victims require a lot of fluids and may need blood during emergency care.
Warning to youth
Sitienei used the opportunity to warn residents, especially youth, against scrambling for fuel from accident tankers.
“Please, please keep away from tankers. We have lost quite a number of people. In this incident we lost two. In other previous incidences we have lost people too,” she said.
She termed fuel siphoning as both dangerous and immoral, noting that touching the tanker’s battery is often what sparks the fire.
“Fuel is a very dangerous thing… They don’t have to rush into that. Because they are rushing into death. Having 18, 19 youth, actually 21 in total in one such incident is not a very nice thing,” she said.
The legislator urged security agencies to put harsher measures to keep crowds away from accident scenes and advised youth to seek legal hustles, including car washing and organizing into groups to access interest-free government funds such as the Uwezo Fund and other youth enterprise funds, where they can borrow Sh50,000 to Sh100,000 to start businesses.
She also condoled with families of the two who died, saying she will continue supporting them through funeral fundraisers, as she has always done.
Hospital management said all necessary care was still being given to the victims.
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