The Ugandan government has sued Kenya at the East Africa Court of Justice over the importation of petroleum oil from Mombasa port.
In an application submitted by the Ugandan Attorney General, the East African country claimed that the Kenyan government restrained the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) from issuing them with a license to import oil from the Mombasa Port.
The landlocked country sought to cut off Kenyan Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) from importing fuel on behalf of Uganda.
“The complete reliance and dependency on Kenyan OMCs to import and supply petroleum products to Uganda have exposed the Republic of Uganda to supply vulnerabilities resulting in an avoidable increase in fuel pump prices,” the court paper read.
Uganda argued that it has a right under the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea to transport oil through the Kenyan territory.
Following previous agreements, Kenya had agreed to back Uganda’s policy to import and supply petroleum products for their market through the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC).
Museveni and Ruto
Actualization of the proposed policies was however delayed, as UNOC failed to submit the required documents as directed by EPRA.
The requirements include proof of annual sales of 6.6 million litres of super petrol, diesel and kerosene, ownership of a licensed petroleum depot and at least five retail stations locally.
This comes nearly two months after president Yoweri Museveni accused Kenyan middlemen of inflating fuel prices, demanding that Uganda be certified as an Oil Marketing Company (OMC) in Kenya.
Museveni also alleged that middlemen in Kenya inflated prices by up to 59 percent, inflicting avoidable pain on consumers.
“Without my knowledge, our wonderful people were buying this huge quantity of petroleum products from middlemen in Kenya. A whole country buying from middlemen in Kenya or anywhere else! Amazing but true,” he stated.
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