Four National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) officials have been instructed to step aside amidst investigations into the issuance of the license to the Embakasi gas company.

NEMA, in a statement on Saturday, disclosed that the ongoing inquiry revealed that the four officers allegedly processed the license in an unprocedural manner, overlooking the company's failure to comply with the proposed conditions.

“After thorough assessment of the licensing procedure and processes the Board of Management has noted with great concern some serious gaps in the issuance of the license to the LPG plant in question,” Nema board chairperson Emilio Mugo said.

“The board therefore directs that the implicated officers step aside immediately pending further investigations by the relevant government agencies,” Mugo directed.

The four according to Nema include the Director of environmental compliance, Acting Deputy Director compliance, Senior environmental officer in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) section and head of environmental impact assessment in the EAI section.

The action to send the four packings comes barely hours after President William Ruto directed the Ministry of Energy to sack state officers implicated in the licensing of the plant.

The explosion at the plant on Friday left three people dead and more than 200 nursing injuries in various hospitals in Nairobi.

Addressing the issue in Lugali on Saturday morning, Ruto attributed the incident to corruption, lack of integrity, and greed among government officials responsible for granting the license to the operator.

He expressed concern that the people in government had issued the licenses for the business to be conducted in a residential area where Kenyans reside endangering their lives.

“I want to say for the avoidance of doubt, the government officials who issued licenses for gas installations in residential areas when it was very clear that it was the wrong thing to do, but because of incompetence and corruption they issued licenses,” 

He continued: “Today we have injuries, we have Kenyans who have died, those fellows who are involved in this, the ministry must immediately take action against them and they must be dismissed and prosecuted for the crimes they have committed.”

The President said there was no need for such people to continue holding government office and being paid with taxpayers money.