Museveni Reveals Kenyan Politician Who Exposed Middlemen in G-to-G Oil Deal

Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has revealed that former Lugari MP, the late Cyrus Jirongo, was the one who informed him that Uganda was purchasing petroleum products through middlemen in Kenya. 

In a statement on Sunday, September 20, Museveni said the late Jirongo briefed him on the matter in 2019, and he directed the then Energy Minister Irene Muloni to address the issue. 

Museveni noted that he was unaware that Uganda was purchasing petroleum products through middlemen operating in Kenya. 

“In, for instance, the matter of purchasing Petroleum products for the country- a whole country- Uganda- I did not know that these wonderful People were buying those products through middlemen in Kenya by tendering to those middlemen.

“It was a Kenyan Senator called Jirongo who told me this around 2019. I immediately tasked the then Minister Irene Muloni to sort out that mess,” read the statement in part. 

However, Museveni said nothing changed until August 2023 when Uganda entered into an arrangement with Vitol, a global energy company. 

According to Museveni, the agreement with Vitol has resulted in lower prices for petroleum products, with the price of diesel dropping from USD 118 to USD 83 per metric ton, while petrol dropped from USD 97.50 to USD 61.50.

The price of aviation fuel, on the other hand, fell from USD 114.25 to USD 79.25 per metric ton. 

President Museveni thanked his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto for supporting the new arrangement. 

“I want to thank H.E. Ruto because he prevailed over some actors in Kenya who were trying to resist. 

“That is how we got our new arrangement, and the Kenya Government allows us to pump our products through the Kenya oil pipeline, in which the Kenya Government allowed us to have shares of 20.15%,” added Museveni. 

This comes days after Museveni disclosed that Uganda was purchasing petroleum products through middlemen in Kenya rather than directly from the government. 

Speaking on Thursday, September 17, Museveni said a Kenyan senator called him and exposed the intermediaries, 

“The Republic of Uganda was buying petroleum products through middlemen in Kenya. Can you imagine that? And the person who woke me up first was a senator from Kenya,” Museveni stated.  

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum has defended Kenya's Government-to-Government (G-to-G) arrangement for the importation of refined petroleum products amid growing scrutiny of the deal.

In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said the arrangement was introduced to address severe foreign exchange shortages that had threatened the country’s ability to import fuel and other essential commodities after the current administration assumed office in September 2022.

"Our attention has been drawn to media reports in the last 2 days on the Government-to-Government importation of refined petroleum products commonly known as the G-to-G arrangement, which is a well-intentioned arrangement for the country," the statement read.

The ministry said the arrangement was conceived against the backdrop of a serious fuel supply challenge, with retail stations operating on minimal or no stocks when President William Ruto’s administration assumed office on September 13, 2022.

At the time, petroleum importers were required to settle payments for refined products in US Dollars within five days of receiving cargo, placing additional pressure on the country’s already limited foreign exchange reserves.

"The objective of the arrangement was to cushion the country from the negative effects of US Dollar liquidity that had almost ground our economy to a halt in 2022," the statement added.