The secret shortage

I first heard about the shortage of diesel in East Africa in an email from the UK. Apparently the problem is a broken pipe near Mombasa. There was no sign of any problem in Kamembe until last week, when suddenly only one of the seven garages had any supplies. When I asked about this, I was told that the shortage extended as far as Kampala and Nairobi. There is plenty of petrol and paraffin, but diesel is hard to find.
However, a search of the “New Times” website reveals nothing and there has been no news on the radio about this problem.
The approach to such things is so different at home, where there would be news bulletins and rumours abounding. I still remember the huge queue of cars which appeared at the garage outside my office window just 2 hours after (untrue) stories of an impending petrol shortage were broadcast on the morning news. It illustrates the different attitude of the public, accepting that such things will inevitably happen and also the tight control that there is over the news.