Uganda has dispatched a high-level delegation of senior officials from the Uganda National Oil Company (Unoc) to inspect critical fuel-handling facilities at the Port of Mombasa and the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) installations. Led by Unoc Board Chairman Mathias Katamba, the delegation’s official itinerary was billed as a familiarization tour, encompassing visits to the Kenya Ports Authority petroleum terminal, various KPC storage depots, and SGS Kenya laboratories.
However, behind the diplomatic framing of routine regional cooperation lies a growing anxiety in Kampala over the stability of its petroleum supply chain, exacerbated by ongoing global disruptions linked to the Middle East conflict and friction with its primary transit neighbor.
The underlying trigger for the inspection tour stems from a tense diplomatic and logistical episode that occurred in April. According to confidential sources, Kenya attempted to access petroleum volumes that were strictly earmarked for Uganda within the shared KPC storage system.
Nairobi formally proposed borrowing Uganda’s transit petrol to plug an acute domestic shortage. This domestic crunch had been triggered by a disputed $91 million emergency fuel import saga, and Kenyan officials promised to replace the borrowed volumes once delayed shipments eventually arrived.
Kampala firmly refused the request, citing strict contractual commitments and the critical need to maintain adequate strategic reserves amid an increasingly uncertain global market. A brief authored by the former Petroleum Principal Secretary, Mohamed Liban—who subsequently resigned during the fallout of the import scandal—confirmed that Kenya had formally requested Uganda to advance its super petrol stocks to cash-strapped Kenyan oil marketing companies.
Subsequent investigations and official statements revealed that manipulated data had been used to justify the overpriced emergency shipment, despite existing long-term contracts with major global suppliers like Saudi Aramco Trading, ADNOC, and Emirates National Oil Company being fully honored.
The episode has laid bare the delicate friction between regional economic integration and national energy security. Uganda relies heavily on the Kenyan transport corridor for the bulk of its petroleum imports, making secure and predictable transit a matter of paramount national interest. Any disruption—whether driven by domestic political maneuvers, bureaucratic miscalculations, or regional shortages—poses an immediate threat to Uganda’s economic stability.
To fortify its position and protect its supply lines, Kampala has taken aggressive financial and strategic steps. Uganda recently acquired a 20.15% stake in the Kenya Pipeline Company through its initial public offering (IPO), investing more than KSh 20 billion ($154.44 million).This substantial equity purchase has secured Uganda two coveted seats on the KPC board, along with strategic veto power over the appointment of the company’s chief executive officer.
This investment represents a dual strategy by the Ugandan government: it signals a long-term commitment to utilizing Kenya as its preferred and most viable petroleum corridor while simultaneously providing institutional insurance against any repeat of the quiet attempts to tap into Ugandan reserves.
As the Unoc delegation concludes its inspections of the Mombasa and Nairobi facilities, the message from Kampala is clear. Uganda is no longer content to act as a passive transit partner dependent entirely on the goodwill of its neighbor. By combining physical oversight of infrastructure—such as the terminal and laboratory audits—with high-level corporate governance through its KPC shareholding, Uganda is actively reshaping the dynamics of East African energy logistics.
