Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has identified the late Kenyan politician Cyrus Jirongo as the person who alerted him that Uganda was purchasing petroleum products through middlemen in Kenya, putting to rest speculation that had stirred political debate in Kenya over fuel imports.
Speaking in a statement marking his 82nd birthday, Museveni said Jirongo raised the matter around 2019, well before William Ruto became Kenya’s president and before Kenya introduced its government-to-government fuel import arrangement in 2023.
“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,” he said.
Museveni had first made the disclosure days earlier while breaking ground for a 320-million-litre fuel storage terminal in Uganda, saying a Kenyan senator had “woken me up” to the middlemen issue.
Some Kenyan media initially interpreted the remarks as a veiled reference to former President Uhuru Kenyatta, but Museveni’s follow-up statement named Jirongo directly.
A former Lugari lawmaker and Cabinet minister under retired President Daniel arap Moi, Jirongo died in a road accident in December 2025.
Museveni acknowledged that his intervention did not bring about immediate change.
“Nevertheless, nothing happened, until 2023 when we linked up with a group known as Vitol,” he said, referring to the global energy trader.
An agreement signed on August 18, 2023, significantly reduced the premiums Uganda was paying on petroleum products.
According to figures cited by Museveni, the diesel premium fell from approximately Ksh 15,252 to Ksh 10,726 per metric tonne, petrol dropped from Ksh 12,593 to Ksh 7,943, and aviation fuel came down from Ksh 14,752 to Ksh 10,232. The figures refer to procurement premiums rather than retail fuel prices.
Uganda subsequently shifted its petroleum imports toward the Uganda National Oil Company, with Vitol becoming a major supplier.
Despite the procurement changes, Kenya remains a critical link in the physical supply chain. Museveni acknowledged this and praised President Ruto for facilitating the arrangement.
“I want to thank H.E Ruto because he prevailed over some actors in Kenya who were trying to resist,” he said, noting that Kenya allowed Uganda to pump petroleum products through the Kenya oil pipeline and permitted Uganda to acquire a 20.15 percent stake in the pipeline company.
“We are very happy with the Kenya Government of President Ruto on this matter,” he added.
Petroleum imported through the Port of Mombasa continues to transit through Kenya before reaching Uganda, meaning the two countries remain deeply linked in the regional energy supply chain regardless of how Uganda’s procurement arrangements have evolved.
