By Swift Reporter
President Yoweri Museveni has identified late Kenyan politician Cyrus Jirongo as the person who alerted him that Uganda was buying petroleum products through middlemen in Kenya, clarifying remarks that had sparked debate over the country’s fuel import arrangements.
Museveni made the disclosure in a statement marking his 82nd birthday, saying Jirongo raised the issue around 2019, 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,” Museveni said, adding that he immediately tasked the then Energy Minister Irene Muloni to address the matter.
Jirongo, a former Lugari lawmaker and Cabinet minister under retired Kenyan President Daniel arap Moi, died in a road accident in December 2025.
Museveni had initially referred only to a Kenyan senator when speaking at the groundbreaking of a 320-million-litre fuel storage terminal in Mpigi, prompting speculation in some Kenyan media about the identity of the politician. He has now identified the senator as Jirongo.
The President said his initial intervention did not immediately change Uganda’s fuel procurement system.
“Nevertheless, nothing happened, until 2023 when we linked up with a group known as Vitol,” he said.
Museveni said an agreement signed on August 18, 2023, subsequently helped reduce the premiums Uganda paid for petroleum products. Government figures cited by him put the diesel premium at $118 per metric tonne under the previous arrangement, compared with $83 under the newer supply arrangement. For petrol, the figure fell from $97.50 to $61.50, while aviation fuel dropped from $114.25 to $79.25.
The figures refer to procurement premiums rather than retail pump prices.
Uganda later shifted petroleum imports towards the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), with Vitol becoming a major supplier. The change was intended to reduce the role of intermediaries in the country’s petroleum supply chain.
Despite the changes in procurement, Kenya remains important to Uganda’s fuel supply infrastructure. Museveni said the new arrangement continues to use Kenya’s petroleum infrastructure and credited President Ruto with helping Uganda secure access to the Kenya oil pipeline.
“I want to thank H.E Ruto because he prevailed over some actors in Kenya who were trying to resist,” Museveni said.
He added that Kenya had also allowed Uganda to acquire a 20.15 per cent stake in the pipeline company.
WhatsApp/Call: +256 754 137391
