The Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) has affirmed that the Ksh 17 billion fuel shipment belongs to Galana Energies Limited and not businesswoman Ann Njeri.
In a statement, KPC said Njeri did not have the necessary licenses to import fuel into the country.
“The fuel imported belonged to Galana Energies Limited and not Ann’s Import and Export Enterprises Limited. Ann’s Import and Export Enterprises does not have the requisite importation license to import petroleum products to Kenya nor a Transportation and Storage Agreement (TSA) with KPC, which alongside EPRA licensing is a pre-requisite for the use of KPC’s storage and transportation pipeline system.
It is therefore practically impossible for the Enterprise to claim ownership of the petroleum product onboard MV Hagui.”
Appearing before the Energy Committee in parliament late last year, Njeri insisted that she imported the fuel to sell in the East Africa region.
“As an upstream trader, not an importer of petroleum products in Kenya, I do not need a license to deliver fuel to a customer who has a license to operate in their jurisdiction,” she stated.
KPC has also refuted claims that went around in the media that the company released substandard fuel worth Ksh 17 billion to the Kenyan market.
“The only grades of fuel transported and stored by KPC are MSP (petrol), Auto-mated Gas oil (AGO), kerosene, and jet fuel. Grade diesel EN 590 alleged by media reports to be the cargo in the ship MV Hagui that docked in Mombasa on 4th November 2023 is not a grade accepted in Kenya and could therefore not have been imported to the country. The ship ferried Auto-mated gas oil (AGO).”
KPC said the fuel was released immediately to the respective oil marketing companies, Galana in this case, in accordance with their entitlement for use by the market immediately after discharge from the ship.
The Ksh 17 billion fuel scandal
Businesswoman Ann Njeri hit headlines in November 2023 following the importation of fuel worth Ksh 17 billion.
Njeri allegedly disappeared, and when she resurfaced, she claimed she was abducted and that the kidnappers told her to choose between her life or the multi-billion fuel shipment.
There was a tussle in court between Galana Energies and Njeri’s company, with each part claiming ownership of the cargo.
A parliamentary inquiry into the scandal was conducted, but Njeri failed to show up to the first sitting, citing illness. Kenyans and politicians questioned how one person could import fuel worth billions.
When she showed up before the committee at a later date, she did not seem to have a good grasp of the details regarding the fuel cargo.
In December, she asked the court to close the case claiming the cargo was already offloaded, and so became a commercial case. The judge declined saying just because the cargo was already offloaded did not mean the case was solved.
Njeri later asked to be compensated for losing the Ksh 17 billion fuel cargo, alleging she was forced to let go of the shipment.
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