President William Ruto has finally broken his silence on the growing Ksh4 billion sub-standard fuel scandal, speaking out during a church service in Kilgoris, Narok County, on April 5. While many expected him to sidestep the controversy, the President instead doubled down, promising to take firm action against four senior officials now at the center of the storm. Those officials—Petroleum Principal Secretary Mohamed Liban, Kenya Pipeline Company MD Joe Sang, and Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority Director General Daniel Kiptoo—have since resigned, but Ruto made it clear that stepping down is not the end of the matter. In his words, no one will escape accountability, regardless of their position in the energy sector.
The scandal, which has gripped the nation, involves a 60,000-metric-tonne fuel consignment originally destined for Angola but illegally diverted to the Port of Mombasa between March 27 and 29 this year. Reports indicate that the four officials manipulated fuel stock data to create an illusion of supply shortages, which in turn justified emergency purchases outside official government-to-government contracts. To make matters worse, the substandard fuel was brought in at heavily inflated prices, and the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) is now accused of allowing it to be sold in the local market—a revelation made by the Consumer Federation of Kenya (Cofek) on April 5.
Interestingly, President Ruto appeared to suggest that some senior officials tried to exploit the ongoing crisis in the Middle East to manufacture a local shortage for personal financial gain. “It cannot be that developments in the Middle East are used as an excuse to create artificial problems here at home,” he said, stopping short of naming anyone but leaving little to the imagination. The President contrasted the current fuel scandal with his administration’s earlier victories against cartels in other sectors, pointing out that similar networks had been dismantled in the coffee, sugar, and fertilizer industries. “We used to have cartels and brokers who used to frustrate us on fertilizers. Those cartels, we sent them home. Today, the sugar sector is doing okay,” Ruto reminded the congregation.
Despite the President’s tough talk, public pressure continues to mount, with many Kenyans and leaders calling for the immediate resignation of Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi. The belief is that a scheme of this magnitude could not have unfolded without his knowledge. Notably, Wandayi has not spoken publicly since the four officials stepped down, leaving a vacuum of clarity that only fuels further suspicion. For now, Ruto insists that the era of talking about corruption is over. “In 2022, we talked about ending corruption, and many did not believe it. People thought it was a bluff. I want to say here today, we will not talk about it. We will do what needs to be done,” he said. Whether that translates into real consequences for those implicated—including possibly Wandayi—remains the question on every Kenyan’s mind.