Cooking Oil Scandal: KSh 9.3b Edible Oil Allegedly Goes Missing, Declared Unfit For Consumption

• Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) imported 125,000 metric tonnes of unprocessed edible oil to be distributed via dispensing machines
• The Senate Standing Committee on Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism, chaired by Senator Lenku Seki accused the Ministry of Trade of concealing information on the oil
• Kenyans will have to wait for a while to buy cooking oil at a cheaper price promised by the Kenya Kwanza Alliance administration

TUKO.co.ke journalist Japhet Ruto brings over eight years of experience in financial, business, and technology reporting, offering deep insights into Kenyan and global economic trends.

The KSh 9.3 billion edible oil, at the centre of an importation controversy, cannot be accounted for in the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC) warehouses.

It also emerged that health officials found the oil unfit for consumption, indicating Kenyans are staring at health risks if it finds its way into the market.

The Senate Standing Committee on Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism, chaired by Senator Lenku Seki, noted discrepancies between the submissions presented by the Ministry of Trade and the KNTC.

According to a report by Parliament, the Trade Committee's efforts to unravel the mystery did not bear fruit as Cabinet Secretary for the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry Rebecca Miano failed to turn up for a meeting.

Also missing was KNTC's top management.

"The Committee concluded that there seemed to be a deliberate move to conceal information from the public. It therefore resolved to adjourn the meeting and invite the Former CS for the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry Moses Kuria who was in charge at the time when the edible oil in question was imported, and suppliers of the edible oil to appear before the committee at the earliest to answer to the Committee queries," the report stated.

How many metric tonnes of oil are missing?

People Daily reported that the missing consignment included 125,000 metric tonnes of edible oil.

When the Trade Committee visited KNTC warehouses, the officials barred them from inspecting them.

However, they opened one of the warehouses and found only 466 jerricans, yet 6.8 million were imported.

Why Kenyans will wait longer for cheap cooking oil

Kenyans will have to wait for a while to buy cooking oil at a cheaper price promised by the government.

President William Ruto's administration rolled out the Mama Pima dispensing machines for edible oil, guaranteeing affordable prices.

The then Trade CS Moses Kuria promised Kenyans would get the product for as little as KSh 10.

Fresh details emerged showing KNTC requires the extra cost to process the KSh 25 billion cooking oil.