The Ksh 2.9 billion fuel scandal has taken a new twist with the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) now finding itself at the heart of the saga.
On Tuesday, the Senate Committee on Energy, probing the scandal established that a waiver request was submitted on March 26th for the over 60,000 metric tonnes of contaminated fuel, yet KPC proceeded to offload the cargo the following day, prior to approval was by Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui on March 28th.
KPC Acting Managing Director Pius Mwendwa who was hard pressed to explain the sequence of events that occasioned the loss, further revealed that the contaminated product is already in the market.
Senators raised fresh concerns over the handling of a controversial fuel importation, questioning the sequence of events surrounding the waiver request and subsequent cargo offloading.
The Lawmakers further deduced that the Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi was in the know despite informing Members of Parliament on Monday that he was unaware of the shipment of the contaminated fuel.
Mwendwa confirmed that there is enough fuel in the country, with leaders calling on the government to reduce the VAT on the vital Commodity.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro says the three Government officials who were arrested in connection with the scandal are yet to be held accountable.
The Oil Company involved in the scandal, One Petroleum Limited, was a no-show and requested the Committee for 30 days to prepare and appear before it.
