Drama as Njeri fails to prove she owns Sh17b fuel

Ann Njeri, the businesswoman behind the disputed Sh17 billion fuel, yesterday treated a parliamentary committee to a comedy of contradictions and outright lies as she sought to explain her ownership of the controversial consignment.

House Energy committee members under the chairmanship of Mwala MP Vincent Musyoka, watched in dismay as Njeri contradicted herself and failed to prove she was the owner of the consignment despite insisting the cargo belonged to her.

An often incoherent Njeri could not produce bank statements or the letter of credit, which she had claimed, was issued by HSBC Bank in Dubai that paid for the fuel. When asked to produce the documents, she told the MPs that revealing such information would be a breach of her privacy.

“I have evidence (of payment) but it is private and confidential, it should not be shared with the public, only the chairman can see it,” she said. “It is my humble submission that I procured this fuel for sale into any country in East Africa.

“As an upstream trader (not an importer of petroleum products in Kenya), I do not need a license to deliver fuel CIF to a customer who has a license to operate in their jurisdiction. I amend the import documentation to the buyer and deliver the product to the final port. I do not run business in the downstream or fuel import space in Kenya as I am not licensed”.

However, she told the MPs that she had applied to the regulator for a Petroleum Importation License, but her application was rejected.

“That did not affect my trading upstream,” said Njeri, who made her way to the meeting accompanied by her step sister, her friends and a lawyer.

She gave contradicting dates as to when her company, Ann’s Import and Export Enterprises Limited, was formed and whether it had engaged in the fuel business under that name. Initially, she had indicated that the company was registered in 2014 but later said she started it in 1992.

Following the contradictions, MPs at one point had to intervene to remind her that she was under oath after it emerged that the compliance certificate she had presented to them, allegedly from the Kenya Revenue Authority, was fake.

Said Musyoka: “Njeri, I want to put it to you that we have established that the compliance certificate you have given us is fake. In fact, the name is also misspelt. I want to assure you that we will be calling KRA to come here and further authenticate this document.”

The legislators also expressed their frustration with her after she presented documents with small fonts that were not readable

Said Roysambu MP Kamande Mwafrika: “All your documents are faint; they are also in very small fonts. Had you planned to frustrate us?”

Clean business

Turkana Woman Rep Cecilia Asinyen said it was difficult for the committee to determine whether the consignment was really hers as she was not able to produce crucial documents, such as a certificate of origin, bill of lading, letter of credit and manifest.

Njeri who had appeared before the committee to shed light on how her company was involved in the import case, struggled through the entire session to explain herself and table crucial document to ascertain that she took part in a clean business. She struggled to express herself despite being allowed to speak in Swahili.

When asked to demonstrate how she was the sole shareholder in her company, yet its CR12 (the official confirmation by the Registrar of Companies showing who the directors/shareholders of a company are) shows that she together with another only owns two of the 1,000 shares listed, she said that was an old document that had listed previous directors who have since left the company.

Watched news

In her submissions, Njeri said she got interested in the fuel deal after watching news and got informed that Kenya was facing a supply crisis and decided to save Kenyans from the shortage.

When further asked to disclose where she bought the fuel after the documents showed that the designation had been changed, she said it came from SC Ushkuyu in Kazakhstan and Azerbaijan but the point of loading was in Russia.

“I did not know that I needed a license to import oil in Kenya. This is because I brought this cargo after I watched news and saw there was fuel shortage and that is when I decided to bring it to see if I could get the market for it.”

“At the moment I only have a license for general commodities importation… as I said I have never sold oil in Kenya as I only engaged countries like Dubai, South Africa and West Africa.”

Despite insisting that she owned the cargo, last month Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, Galana Energies and Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) dismissed her claim, insisting that she had never traded in the fuel business.

At the time, Chirchir said he had asked Njeri to report the matter to DCI after she went to his office but was not able to explain how she engaged in the business yet she did not meet the requirement to secure a license.

He said: “This matter was not good for the country because even Aramco Trading Fujairah that nominated Galana Energies had called me to ask if our ports were safe because they had seen that someone had made a claim on cargo at the port and I had to assure them that all is well.”

KPA also said at the time that it was impossible for Njeri to be the owner of the consignment because she lacked the necessary documents, including being in receipt of payments made to KPA among others. She also did not have a local agent as required by law.

When he appeared before the committee, Captain William Ruto, the KPA MD, demonstrated to the legislators the route of the ship, proving it was never from Russia.

“The consignees and their respective portions of the bulk cargo are listed in the manifest submitted by the ship’s agent. I can confirm that Ann’s Import and Export Enterprises Limited is not one of the manifested consignees,” Ruto said.

Galana Energies tabled documents to prove that they were the agents for Aramco Trading Fujairah FZE, which is one of the three Saudi Arabia oil exporters engaged in a government-to-government deal with Kenya.

Galana Energies CEO Antony Munyasya tabled evidence supporting his ownership claim, including letters authorising him to import oil into the country.

“We have also provided MT Hagui’s Master’s statement dated 10th November, 2023 confirming the authenticity of the Bill of Lading Orders,” he told the MPs.