Speaking during a media briefing before departing for the United Kingdom, Gachagua claimed the current fuel pricing crisis in Kenya has nothing to do with global oil prices, arguing that neighbouring countries importing fuel from the same Middle East sources are selling petroleum products at significantly lower prices.
“This G-to-G arrangement is a fraud. We were told that it’s supposed to regulate prices and cushion Kenyans from sporadic changes in pricing systems but the price keeps going higher,” Gachagua stated.
He alleged that excessive profits being taken by government-linked business interests, including Gulf Energy, were behind the high pump prices currently being experienced in Kenya.
“The prices here are up because President Ruto, his business partners, Gulf Energy are taking too much profit to fleece Kenyans,” he claimed.
According to Gachagua, Kenya’s fuel prices remain higher than those of neighbouring countries despite sharing similar supply sources
He noted that petrol in Kenya currently retails at Ksh.214 per litre while diesel goes for Ksh.243. In comparison, he said Uganda sells petrol at Ksh.188 and diesel at Ksh.181 despite transporting fuel from the Port of Mombasa by road.
He further cited Rwanda, Tanzania and Ethiopia as examples of countries with lower pump prices than Kenya.
“That tells you this problem is clearly not international. Our neighbours are getting fuel from the same source and our fuel should be cheaper than theirs,” he said.
Gachagua also criticised the government’s decision to allow the importation of fuel containing 50 milligrams of sulphur, claiming the move had compromised fuel quality.
“You’d expect it to be cheap, low-quality fuel. Sulphur, when exposed to the environment, turns into sulphuric acid, and that’s not good for our engines,” he stated.
The former Deputy President further alleged, without providing evidence, that profits from the increased fuel prices had been used to facilitate the purchase of Tullow Oil assets in Turkana.
“I’ve received information that this profit from increased fuel prices has been used to purchase Tullow Oil in Turkana at 120 million USD, approximately Ksh.15.6 billion,” he alleged.
Gachagua also claimed that Gulf Energy had created a “fake debt” amounting to $2.5 billion under the arrangement, though he did not provide documents or evidence to support the allegations.
He further alleged that under the deal, the majority of proceeds from oil sales would be channelled toward servicing the purported debt, leaving little benefit for Turkana residents.
His remarks come after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) increased the prices of Super Petrol and Diesel by Ksh.16.65 and Ksh.46.29 per litre, respectively, in its latest monthly fuel review.
The latest adjustments pushed the retail price of Super Petrol in Nairobi to Ksh.214.25 per litre, while Diesel now retails at Ksh.242.92.
