“It could happen to you”.
…a Zambian filling station will kill your car
Amb. Anthony Mukwita wrote on 23rd April 2023
This year, a video went viral filmed from a gas station called Karan in Zambia where a substance that was neither petrol nor diesel had been pumped out, believed to have been filled in cars of various unsuspecting motorists.
I looked at the video and said, “that looks familiar to what happened to my car” but is it really true? Do gas stations in Zambia pump contaminated stuff in our cars?
I hit the internet and found various complaints from motorist in Lusaka who had been taken for suckers by filling stations whose cars they messed up and got away with it.
Today the gas station is still doing booming business while the motorists have coped up huge costs on car repairs due to contaminated fuel supplies.
Fuel Contamination, a personal experience
It was a bright Saturday afternoon September when my family and I, our two boys and wife decided to leave home in Roma and go for a ride, wherever the road would take us.
I switched on our family Range Rover we have owned since 2016 while we worked for lovely country Zambia in Stockholm, Sweden until we returned home.
The dashboard on gas said, you have a quarter tank before the next refill so I made a mental note to refuel before we could go to wherever the road would take us.
The mood was high in the car, a normal weekend family get together out of the house, or so we thought.
Just about 5kms on our road, Zambezi Rd from home in Roma, we turned left by a gas station, I told the gas attendant, ´Diesel´ K500 please´, which that time September was about 23 litres not the 16 litres it is today.
We gassed up and drove off innocently but just about another 5kms from the gas station on Zambezi Rd onto Nangwenya road, before we could get into Addis Abba Drive, the Range Rover putt putted, smoked and came to a complete stop.
I got out to check what could have been the problem, did I hit and break something? No, I didn’t but right behind our car, a pleasant Youngman drives behind, his name is Kalenga.
Kalenga runs a car business on Nangwenya Rd just adjust the International School of Lusaka.
He dashes out of his car and comes me straight and says, “I saw the smoke as I drove right behind you, what fuel does your Range Rover use?
I said, “Its diesel propelled why?” as Kalenga opened the fuel cap and said, “are you coming from a filling station now?” I said yes.
Kalenga swiped his finger next to the fuel cap where it is clearly written “diesel” put his finger and said, “they “they put petrol in your diesel tank, smell this.”
I smelt it and true to Kalenga´s word, a mechanic by profession it was petrol.
It is about 4pm on a Saturday so what to do? The first thing I do is call the ever reliable ever dependable Alliance Motors that can fix any problem Range Rover.
They say, “Ambassador we will send you a number right now don’t drive the car, a tow truck will come and pick your car and we will look at it on Monday.”
I abide because even though I can play diplomacy and author, I can’t change a light bulb let alone know the trouble with a diesel or petrol car.
My wife and boys check on exasperated me from the passenger seat as curious onlookers start to gather.
A lovely motherly woman reverses her car, jumps out and comes to me and say, “Ambassador I recognised by the roadside from your many pictures in the media, is there anything I can do to help, maybe take your wife and children home?”
I said after getting her name, “Madam I am most humbled, but I have already called for a taxi I am most grateful.”
Kalenga comes to me and says, “sir you have to take the filling station to task, here is my number I will vouch for you.”
On Monday, it takes Alliance Motors, the Range Rover Zeitgeists, the whole day to bring down the complicated diesel tank, drain it and examine the drained more than 23 litres of fuel, including reserve.
I get the most feared call, “Sir the fuel in your Range Rover is contaminated but we are not responsible for saying what the contamination is its above our pay grade what you need to do is immediately engage ERB the Energy Regulations Board for final determination we are sorry.”
Enter Energy Regulations Board
The next day I hit the phone and call the ERB whose efficiency pleasantry shock me, they give me an email address to put the complaint on record which I do.
The next day, an ERB team visits the gas station on Zambezi Rd, get samples for testing but then, minutes, hours and nights have passed.
Our Range Rover tank was contaminated on Saturday afternoon, ERB is getting diesel samples on a Monday afternoon.
The gas station, and this is where I dropped the ball as a normally astute intelligent individual takes a fuel sample to ZABS for testing, I go to ZABS to have an independent test and they say “don’t worry sir we are testing the same sample after all.”
The next day, the ZABS jury is out, “the fuel satisfies what we think is normal fuel, meaning diesel.”
I protest and take the matter to the ERB, a hearing is set I go with an entire arsenal, a lawyer provided by brother and friend Paulman Chungu, my wife Elaine and a team of experts from Alliance Motors.
ERB says to find closure, let’s get another sample of the contaminated fuel and do a second test independently as ERB, I say yes sir. The truth shall set us free.
ERB gets a sample from Alliance Motors, two weeks pass, three and after a long whole month in a move unprecedented, like ZABS, the test is okey. The gas was satisfactory.
No reference was given to the comprehensive engineering report from Alliance Motors that the fuel pumped into my car was contaminated zilch.
I love ERB like any other guy but on this one I had to raise a red flag so on 16th December 2022, I wrote Mr Yohane Mutale, the Director General and asked a few questions:
- Kindly give me a full list of certified laboratories in Zambia (in case I seek a second opinion)
- Please give me a full list of fuel stations in Zambia, Lusaka priority
- Kindly name the fuel stations on the top list of complaints
I thought I could make an informed decision on how to proceed on my injury with gas station from this but alas, I hit a brick wall.
From December 16 last year, Mr Yohane Mutale has not responded to my letter, not even acknowledged it, it’s like it was never sent to him.
No one has asked Alliance Motors why they stated that the fuel in my Range Rover was contaminated from their expert scientific engineering view.
I have spent more than K150,000 trying to bring my Range Rover back on the road, it’s not happening because anyone who knows cars will tell you that salvaging a diesel engine messed up by petrol is almost a mission impossible.
Meanwhile I see fuel challenges and bumper stickers (adverts) and see people excited, I just say to myself, do you know what is being pumped into your gas tank as you win K100?
You are paying the gas station to eff up your car.
As I close the first series, because I will do loads of this until I find justice, why can’t the ERB interrogate evidence of car repair companies and ask them how they reach their decisions before closing cases in favour of gas stations.
Needless to say, the ERB record at the moment stands at the highest pedestal of trust to the best of my knowledge.
I hate every time I drive by the filling station that killed our favourite Range Rover on Zambezi Rd.
We drove this car from Stockholm to C Copenhagen, Amsterdam to the Hague, Berlin to Prague until we reached the graveyard on Zambezi Rd in September. No problem.
One question still on my mind is why did ERB not question Alliance Motors on its findings of contamination? Just spit balling.
Why has the ERB not responded to my humble query from last year December 2022? I am just a useless complainant.
I pray what happened to us, won’t happen to you. Please mind the gas at your next gas stop. I am told the best gas stops are Total, Engen and Puma, the rest are at your own risk. Should we sue?
Feel free to share your experience.