Kenyans Face Ksh3.2 Billion Bill as Government Cancels Fuel Import Deal in Scandal-Ridden Reversal

Kenyans are now on the hook for up to Ksh3.2 billion after the government abruptly cancelled a controversial fuel import deal, leaving a stranded oil tanker and a furious shipping company demanding compensation. The Senate has launched an investigation, the anti-corruption watchdog has stepped aside, and the DCI is circling. Meanwhile, fuel prices have smashed through the Ksh200 mark, squeezing ordinary Kenyans who had nothing to do with the mess. This is the story of how a botched procurement deal became Kenya's latest public funds scandal — and who will ultimately pay the price. Kenya's fuel import scandal exposes deep procurement failures, leaving taxpayers holding a Ksh3.2 billion bill while officials escape accountability and pump prices keep rising. The Ksh3.2 Billion Fuel Import Deal That Collapsed Before the Tanker Could Dock The government awarded a procurement contract to a private shipping company and directed it to import fuel into Kenya. The company followed those instructions, securing a tanker carrying 96 tonnes of fuel destined for the Port of Mombasa. Then, without warning, the government cancelled the deal.

That single decision triggered a financial catastrophe. The company says it incurred costs in demurrage, premiums, and other charges that now total over Ksh3.2 billion — approximately 25 million US dollars. It is now demanding that the Kenyan government foot the bill.

Company manager Angeline Maangi appeared before the Senate Committee on Energy and laid out the scale of the losses. She explained that the firm had entered the agreement on direct instructions from the Ministry of Energy and had no reason to expect the deal would collapse. "The damages we incurred are upwards of 25 million dollars, that is Ksh3.2 billion, in the form of demurrage, premiums, and other related costs. Our pricing simply reflected the global market at the time, where supply disruptions forced us to compete with Asian buyers at any cost," Maangi told the committee. The scandal deepens when you look at the pricing. Investigators say the fuel in question was imported at between Ksh50 and Ksh80 per litre above the rates available under the government-to-government (G-to-G) framework—the established mechanism designed to shield Kenya from exactly this kind of inflated procurement. Senate Committee Opens Investigation Into Irregular Fuel Procurement The Senate Committee on Energy is now investigating two key questions—why the government cancelled the deal and how the procurement happened outside the G-to-G framework in the first place. The G-to-G arrangement exists specifically to eliminate middlemen and secure fuel at competitive prices. Bypassing it raises immediate red flags.

Senators want to know who at the Ministry of Energy authorized the deal, why the company was given the green light to procure outside the standard framework, and what process—if any—governed the decision to cancel it. The abrupt reversal, coming after the tanker was already en route, suggests a breakdown in oversight at the highest levels of the energy procurement chain.

The government has tried to limit the damage by launching recovery proceedings against importers linked to the disputed transaction. But critics argue that pursuing the importers does nothing to answer the harder question—how did this deal get approved in the first place, and who will be held accountable for the resulting Ksh3.2 billion exposure? Angeline Maangi, as company manager, testified before the Senate Energy Committee, revealing the CS Lee Kinyanjui-directed deal cost her firm Ksh3.2 billion in unrecovered losses. EACC Steps Back as DCI Takes the Lead on Criminal Probe The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has confirmed it will not investigate the scandal—at least for now. EACC Chairperson Abdi Mohamud stated publicly that the matter currently falls under criminal jurisdiction and that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is already handling…

Kenyans are now on the hook for up to Ksh3.2 billion after the government abruptly cancelled a controversial fuel import deal, leaving a stranded oil tanker and a furious shipping company demanding compensation. The Senate has launched an investigation, the anti-corruption watchdog has stepped aside, and the DCI is circling. Meanwhile, fuel prices have smashed through the Ksh200 mark, squeezing ordinary Kenyans who had nothing to do with the mess. This is the story of how a botched procurement deal became Kenya's latest public funds scandal — and who will ultimately pay the price. Kenya's fuel import scandal exposes deep procurement failures, leaving taxpayers holding a Ksh3.2 billion bill while officials escape accountability and pump prices keep rising. The Ksh3.2 Billion Fuel Import Deal That Collapsed Before the Tanker Could Dock The government awarded a procurement contract to a private shipping company and directed it to import fuel into Kenya. The company followed those instructions, securing a tanker carrying 96 tonnes of fuel destined for the Port of Mombasa. Then, without warning, the government cancelled the deal.

That single decision triggered a financial catastrophe. The company says it incurred costs in demurrage, premiums, and other charges that now total over Ksh3.2 billion — approximately 25 million US dollars. It is now demanding that the Kenyan government foot the bill.

Company manager Angeline Maangi appeared before the Senate Committee on Energy and laid out the scale of the losses. She explained that the firm had entered the agreement on direct instructions from the Ministry of Energy and had no reason to expect the deal would collapse. "The damages we incurred are upwards of 25 million dollars, that is Ksh3.2 billion, in the form of demurrage, premiums, and other related costs. Our pricing simply reflected the global market at the time, where supply disruptions forced us to compete with Asian buyers at any cost," Maangi told the committee. The scandal deepens when you look at the pricing. Investigators say the fuel in question was imported at between Ksh50 and Ksh80 per litre above the rates available under the government-to-government (G-to-G) framework—the established mechanism designed to shield Kenya from exactly this kind of inflated procurement. Senate Committee Opens Investigation Into Irregular Fuel Procurement The Senate Committee on Energy is now investigating two key questions—why the government cancelled the deal and how the procurement happened outside the G-to-G framework in the first place. The G-to-G arrangement exists specifically to eliminate middlemen and secure fuel at competitive prices. Bypassing it raises immediate red flags.

Senators want to know who at the Ministry of Energy authorized the deal, why the company was given the green light to procure outside the standard framework, and what process—if any—governed the decision to cancel it. The abrupt reversal, coming after the tanker was already en route, suggests a breakdown in oversight at the highest levels of the energy procurement chain.

The government has tried to limit the damage by launching recovery proceedings against importers linked to the disputed transaction. But critics argue that pursuing the importers does nothing to answer the harder question—how did this deal get approved in the first place, and who will be held accountable for the resulting Ksh3.2 billion exposure? Angeline Maangi, as company manager, testified before the Senate Energy Committee, revealing the CS Lee Kinyanjui-directed deal cost her firm Ksh3.2 billion in unrecovered losses. EACC Steps Back as DCI Takes the Lead on Criminal Probe The Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) has confirmed it will not investigate the scandal—at least for now. EACC Chairperson Abdi Mohamud stated publicly that the matter currently falls under criminal jurisdiction and that the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is already handling…