Museveni Says Kenyan Senator Exposed Uganda’s Costly Fuel Procurement Deal

KAMPALA, Uganda — Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has revealed that a Kenyan senator alerted him to Uganda’s use of middlemen in Kenya to procure petroleum products, prompting the government to review the arrangement and shift towards direct fuel imports.

Museveni said he had been unaware that Uganda was sourcing petroleum products through Kenyan intermediaries until the senator brought the matter to his attention.

“The Republic of Uganda was buying petroleum products through middlemen in Kenya. Can you imagine that? And the person who woke me up first was a senator from Kenya,” Museveni said.

The president was speaking on Thursday, September 17, 2026, during the groundbreaking ceremony for a 320-million-litre petroleum storage terminal in Mpigi District.

Museveni questions fuel procurement costs

Museveni said the revelation prompted him to question Ugandan officials responsible for petroleum procurement and examine alternative ways of obtaining fuel directly from bulk suppliers.

He criticised government technocrats for failing to identify what he described as an unnecessarily expensive procurement arrangement.

Figures presented during the ceremony showed a reduction in petroleum import premiums under the current arrangement involving Vitol and Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC).

According to figures cited by Museveni and Uganda's Permanent Secretary for Energy, Irene Batebe:

1. Diesel: The premium fell from $118 to $83 per metric tonne.
2. Petrol: The premium declined from $97.50 to $61.50 per metric tonne.
3. Aviation fuel: The premium dropped from $114.25 to $79.25 per metric tonne.

Museveni said the differences were sufficient to convince him that the previous procurement arrangement needed to be discontinued.

“So that's when I had to come in and say, this must end. And it ended,” he said.

The president did not name the Kenyan senator who first alerted him to the issue.

Uganda shifts towards direct fuel imports

Following the review, Uganda moved to give UNOC a larger role in importing petroleum products directly.

The change became particularly significant in 2024, when Uganda sought to reduce its reliance on Kenyan oil marketing companies and enable UNOC to import petroleum products through Kenya.

The move initially generated a dispute over licensing and access to Kenya's petroleum infrastructure. The disagreement was eventually resolved through an agreement allowing UNOC to use Kenya's established petroleum transport and storage infrastructure.

The arrangement includes the Port of Mombasa as Uganda's main maritime entry point for imported petroleum products and the Kenya Pipeline network for transportation.

The development has allowed Uganda to retain access to the Kenyan supply corridor while giving its national oil company a more prominent role in procurement.

Kenya's government-to-government fuel framework

The changes in Uganda's procurement system have also taken place against the backdrop of Kenya's government-to-government, or G-to-G, petroleum supply framework.

Introduced in 2023, the framework was designed to secure petroleum supplies through government-to-government arrangements with suppliers in the Gulf.

Kenya's petroleum infrastructure remains strategically important to Uganda because the landlocked country relies on regional transport corridors to bring imported fuel from the coast into its domestic market.

Uganda's decision to increase UNOC's role therefore does not mean abandoning the Kenyan corridor. Instead, it represents a shift in how petroleum products are procured and supplied through that infrastructure.

New storage capacity

Museveni's remarks came as Uganda broke ground on a new petroleum storage facility in Mpigi District.

The 320-million-litre terminal is expected to strengthen the country's petroleum storage capacity and provide additional support for fuel security.

The project forms part of Uganda's broader efforts to develop petroleum infrastructure and increase the country's control over the supply chain, from importation and storage to distribution.

Museveni's disclosure about the former use of intermediaries has consequently placed renewed attention on the cost of Uganda's petroleum imports and the role of UNOC in managing the country's fuel supply.

While the president said the shift has reduced procurement premiums, the government has not publicly identified the Kenyan intermediary companies involved in the earlier arrangement or the Kenyan senator who brought the matter to his attention.