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One of the companies involved in the Sh9.3 billion edible oil at the centre of an importation storm is owned by a brother of  a Cabinet Secretary, documents in our possession reveal.

Last week, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) wrote to the Registrar of Companies requesting information relating to three companies that imported the oil.

“This office is investigating a case involving procurement irregularities whereby the companies featured. To facilitate our investigations, kindly but urgently furnish us with the requested information,” reads the letter.

The companies are, Multi Commerce FZC, Charma Holding Limited and Shehena Commodity Trading Limited.

In the letter, Zachary Kariuki of the DCI Operations Support Unit wants the registrar to provide among other documents, particulars of the directors which should include the names, nationality and ID/ passport numbers.

Information provided

Other documents required are certified copies of the Certificate of Incorporation and Articles of Association, the current status and history of the companies including details of current, and previous directors and name change (if any).

The Registrar has also been asked to provide the physical and postal addresses of the companies and other relevant information.

“The registrar has since provided the information containing the names of the directors. One of them is owned by a brother to a CS. We will be summoning them to clarify the matter in question,” said a source close to the investigations.

The DCI has also requested similar documents of companies used to import fertilizer and rice four months ago.

They are Makram Imports and Exports, Multi Commerce FZC and Standard Petroleum LLC. Others are Purma Holding Limited, Evertec General Trading Limited and Lone Trading FCZ.

Senators blocked

Senators have also said that they will be summoning owners of companies which imported the oil after they were denied access to the warehouses where the commodity was being stored.

Members of the Senate Committee on Trade, Industrialisation and Tourism were last Thursday blocked from inspecting the warehouses after the management refused to open them.

“Now that we have been taken in circles, we will summon suppliers to tell us what they imported. Officials at the KNTC are not cooperating,” said committee chairman and Kajiado Senator Lenku ole Seki.

“We support the chairman that suppliers be summoned to also shed light on whether they inflated prices as alleged,” said Kiambu senator Karungo Thang’wa, a member of the committee.

Last week detectives arrested the Managing Director of the Kenya National Trading Corporation (KNTC), Pamela Mutua and other top managers. The agency was used to import the oil which has since gone missing from the warehouses.

The Cabinet had approved a framework to position KNTC as the anchor of State initiatives to create a price stabilizer for essential household food items,” the Cabinet memo stated in part.

“KNTC will leverage on its infrastructure and capacity to help stabilise price swings of essential items that are abnormal and against the public interest.”

However, KNTC single-sourced the companies contracted to import 125,000 metric tonnes of edible oil and set higher prices as opposed to what had been agreed on initially.

It awarded Multi-Commerce FCZ a Sh8.12 billion tender to supply vegetable oil and Shehena Company Limited to supply jerricans of edible oil at Sh1.33 billion.

The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) used the Kenya Gazette notice number 250 to facilitate the subsequent imports. The National Treasury later issued a circular indicating the quantities of edible oils to be imported.

Shipping containers

However, three Single Administrative Documents currently with the investigators each have different entries and this discrepancy is expected to inform the investigations expected to commence today. The first document shows the importation of 26,600 20-litre jerricans translating to 20 shipping containers.

 In the second, the importation of 51,870 20-litre jerricans translates to 39 shipping containers. In the third document, the importation of 6,650 20-litre jerricans translates to five shipping containers, bringing the total to 64 shipping containers of imported cooking oil.

The Cabinet memo stated: “To address the cost of living, Cabinet approved a framework to position the Kenya National Trading Corporation as the anchor of state initiatives to create a price stabilizer for essential household food items.”

 “KNTC will leverage on its infrastructure and capacity to help stabilize price swings of essential items that are abnormal and against the public interest.”

 However, a document filed in the National Assembly showed that KNTC single sourced companies contracted to import 125,000 metric tons of edible oil.

A source at the DCI told People Daily that a Cabinet Secretary will also be recording a statement on the matter any time this week.

Detectives also grilled managers of a local bank that guaranteed the edible oil deal, which cost the taxpayer Sh9 billion. They were also expected to answer questions on the importation of maize, rice, and sugar early this year which raised questions on the procurement process.

The probe into the edible oil scam is expected to be expanded to other government entities including the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Investments and the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

MPs have also questioned tax waiver on importing foodstuffs worth Sh16.5 billion.

It was not until last year that the corporation was allocated a huge budget to import cooking oil and other food products, a process that commenced in March.