Inside the fuel saga: How Kebs, Wandayi emerged unscathed

Fresh details have emerged on why President William Ruto spared two senior government officials in the fuel import saga, even as the axe fell on some of his close allies at the centre of the controversy.

The revelations come as detectives widen the probe, grilling another group of high-profile officials—members of the vessel alignment committee—where a key decision on the “emergency” importation of fuel was made.

A review of the controversial import indicates that Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi and Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) managing director Esther Ngari were largely kept in the dark, particularly on critical approvals that triggered the crisis.

Wandayi is understood to have insisted on maintaining the Government-to-Government (G-to-G) fuel import model, widely seen as more cost-effective for the taxpayer.

“The Cabinet Secretary, Energy and Petroleum, has since directed that even as appropriate stopgap measures are taken to mitigate the situation as it evolves, all the imports are to be within the G-to-G framework,” immediate former Petroleum PS Mohamed Liban stated in a brief dated April 2, 2026.

The Kebs boss did not append her signature to any decision relaxing fuel quality standards—an omission that insiders say proved significant given the sensitivity of the agency.

Kebs remains a high-stakes institution, with at least two former managing directors previously arrested and charged over substandard imports.

Wandayi, however, appears to have been sidelined in what insiders describe as a complex web of decisions, miscommunication and a “pre-determined procurement path”.

Documents and correspondence reviewed show the CS was, to a large extent, excluded from the core decision-making loop.

A note from the National Security Council Committee indicates that Wandayi was not copied in the initial communication that set the process in motion.

In the memo, Head of Public Service Felix Koskei tasked Energy PS Alex Wachira and Petroleum PS Mohamed Liban with implementing the committee’s resolutions by virtue of their roles as accounting officers.

Sources say the directive from the committee may have complicated efforts to pursue charges against three senior officials—close allies of the President—who were directly involved in execution.

Liban, Kenya Pipeline Company managing director Joe Sang, and Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority chief executive officer Daniel Kiptoo were arrested on Friday night.

They have since been released but are yet to be formally charged in court.

The March 9 memo was addressed to a wide network of principal secretaries, including Chris Kiptoo (Treasury), Bonface Makokha (Economic Planning), Alex Wachira (Energy), Liban (Petroleum), Regina Ombam (Trade) and Teresia Mbaika (Aviation).

It issued specific instructions to “mitigate immediate economic impacts” of the US-Iran war while “addressing strategic vulnerabilities”.

The communication was copied to senior officials across government, including PSs Patrick Mariru (Defence), Raymond Omollo (Internal Security), Korir Sing’Oei (Foreign Affairs) and Hassan Abubakar (Investments Promotion).

It was also shared with Chief of Defence Forces Charles Kahariri, Inspector General of Police Douglas Kanja and former Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) director general Daniel Kiptoo.

Another key correspondence was a letter from Trade CS Lee Kinyanjui to Wandayi.

In the letter, Kinyanjui informed the Energy CS that a decision had been made to exempt the hastily secured fuel consignment from rigorous Kebs testing.

“Waiver is hereby granted on the oxygenates, manganese, sulphur and senzene parameters in the KS EAS 158:2025, automotive gasoline specifications standard for 68,000 tonnes of premium motor spirit aboard Mt Paloma,” Kinyanjui wrote.

It remains unclear why the waiver did not originate from Kebs, the statutory body mandated to enforce quality standards.

Notably, Kebs did not respond directly to the initial request for a waiver made by PS Liban.

Instead, it was the Trade CS who communicated the decision to the Energy CS, raising further questions about the chain of accountability.

While Kinyanjui’s letter referenced two earlier communications from the Petroleum department, ministry sources indicate that no physical copies were ever delivered to Wandayi’s office.

Indeed, it has emerged that the letters never reached the CS in time.

A copy of the Trade Ministry correspondence shows that although it was dated March 28, it was only received at Wandayi’s office on March 30—by which point the first shipment had already docked.