A fuel tanker at the launch of bulk petroleum imports by UNOC last year
The diplomatic relationship between Uganda and Kenya continues to remain bumpy with Kampala dragging President Ruto-led administration to court over a lucrative oil deal. This is the most recent update on the Uganda-Kenya oil saga. Uganda first filed the lawsuit on December 28th, last year, claiming that Nairobi denied it rights to operate locally.
As reported by The East African, Uganda is suing Kenya for withholding a license to Uganda’s government-owned oil marketer to operate locally and manage petroleum imports bound for Kampala.
This lawsuit is the latest episode in a disturbing sequence of back and forth between the two countries, in which there appears to be no middle ground.
A report in November revealed that Uganda’s bid to utilize Kenya’s pipeline for fuel transportation was denied. This did not sit well with the Ugandan administration, which had previously disclosed its displeasure with an oil deal Kenya signed with two golf countries.
As a result of the denial, Uganda has decided to take Kenya to the regional East African Court of Justice. Additionally, Uganda claims Kenya violated a prior deal made in April 2023 to facilitate Kampala’s efforts to import petroleum beginning this month directly.
“Unoc found the above requirements an unnecessary hindrance to the implementation of its petroleum policy as the petroleum products in issue were wholly transit goods not destined for the Republic of Kenya,” the Ugandan Attorney-General says in the court documents.
The requirements being referred to by the Uganda National Oil Company (Unoc) include proof of annual sales of 6.6 million liters of super petrol, diesel, and kerosene, ownership of a licensed petroleum depot, and at least five retail stations locally.
Unoc asserts that it adheres to other procedures, including registering an office in Kenya, while racing to guarantee that Uganda’s arrangement to buy petroleum directly goes smoothly.
Kenya and Uganda have been at odds with each other for the past few months over the future of their energy sectors. Uganda had in November disclosed that it would begin working with Tanzania for its oil imports as opposed to Kenya.
This, as mentioned earlier is based on Uganda’s displeasure with Kenya over a golf deal the country signed with the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, which Uganda deemed harmful.
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