Matiang'i demands full disclosure of G-to-G oil deal, scrutiny on middlemen

President Museveni said that a Kenyan legislator he identified as ‘Jirongo’ exposed to him in 2019 the presence of middlemen in East Africa's G-to-G oil importation deal.

Matiang'i now argues that the matter has raised doubts about Kenya's oil dealings, demanding the need for transparency and accountability.

He said that Kenyans deserve to be furnished with the detailed agreement dossier and further scrutinize the role of middlemen in the deal

"The G2G agreement must be published in full. The role of the middlemen must be disclosed and scrutinized. And the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK) must be restored to its proper role in securing supply and helping stabilize our fuel market," he said in a statement on Sunday.

"When public money is involved, secrecy cannot be the policy. Kenyans deserve to know who benefited, at what cost, and why."

Museveni, in his exposé on September 17, said that Uganda had previously procured petroleum products through intermediaries in Kenya, rather than directly from the government as outlined in the G-to-G framework. 

The revelation, he said, prompted him to end the G-to-G arrangement with Kenya and begin sourcing bulk petroleum products directly. 

The Ugandan president further criticised his government officials for failing to identify what he described as an unnecessarily costly procurement arrangement.

The government has however clarified the allegations, saying it was inked to stop a severe US dollar shortage in 2022 that threatened to crash the economy and drain the country's foreign exchange reserves and not to orchestrate a fraudulent scheme.

The importation was deal brokered in 2023 between Kenya and with Aramco Trading Fujairah FZE (Aramco), Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) Global Trading Ltd and Emirates National Oil Company (Singapore) Private Limited (ENOC).

According to Energy Cabinet Secretary (CS) Opiyo Wandayi, the International Oil Companies (IOCs) opted to appoint licensed Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) for local supply logistics.

A vetting resulted to the onboarding of Gulf Energy Limited, Galana Energies Limited and Oryx Energies Kenya Limited

Others include One Petroleum Limited, Asharami Synergy Limited and BE Energy Limited.

CS Wanadayi maintains that the deal preserved Kenya’s forex reserves and stabilized the US Dollar - Kenya Shilling exchange rate.