NAIROBI, Kenya — Fresh revelations have exposed a critical 10-day delay between the arrival of a controversial fuel shipment at the Port of Mombasa and the government’s directive to remove it from circulation, raising concerns that part of the consignment may have already reached retail petrol stations.
An investigative report by KTN News indicates that the 60,000-metric-tonne cargo entered the country on March 27 and was subsequently distributed to various oil marketing companies before authorities flagged compliance concerns.
Documents reviewed show that the consignment, reportedly valued at about Sh8 billion, was received by a firm linked to a Kenyan businessman and portions of it transferred to other marketers shortly after clearance.
The records further reveal that distribution and billing to oil marketers began on March 28—the same day Lee Kinyanjui wrote to CS Opiyo Wandayi authorising the handling and offloading of the cargo.
This timeline appears to contradict earlier public statements by Kinyanjui, who had indicated that the shipment had not yet been received at the time the two ministries were exchanging correspondence.
“At the time these letters were being exchanged, we had not received the cargo,” Kinyanjui said in a prior media interview.
He, however, maintained that the determination of fuel standards rests with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), noting that the law allows the agency to grant waivers under specific conditions deemed to be in the national interest.
“The standard is set by KEBS, and the law allows the institution to give a waiver as long as the conditions are met,” he said.
Despite this, the newly surfaced documentation suggests that offloading had already commenced by March 28—just a day after the vessel docked—placing the product within the country’s fuel distribution system well before regulatory concerns were formally raised.
Under Kenya’s fuel supply chain, imported petroleum products are either stored in facilities operated by the Kenya Pipeline Company for onward distribution or transported directly to private storage depots, making early-stage circulation difficult to reverse once initiated.
It was not until April 7—10 days after arrival—that Wandayi ordered the removal of the shipment, citing irregularities in procurement and non-compliance with the government-to-government fuel import framework.
He further directed oil marketers not to uplift or pay for the product and instructed cancellation of invoices alongside issuance of credit notes.
However, by that point, portions of the fuel had already been billed and potentially distributed, raising fears that some of it may have entered the retail market.
The development has intensified scrutiny over fuel quality in Kenya, with questions emerging about whether substandard product may currently be in circulation at petrol stations.
Financially, the government is reportedly exposed to Sh3.53 billion linked to the disputed cargo, underscoring the economic stakes tied to the unfolding controversy.
