On Wednesday morning, lawmakers will question the woman at the core of a contentious shipment of almost 100,000 metric tonnes of oil worth Sh17 billion.
Ann Njeri Njoroge will be questioned about the oil she attempted to claim when she appears before the National Assembly's Committee on Energy.
MPs will try to determine if it is owned by the business registered as Galana Energies or by Njeri's Import and Export Enterprises Limited.
Njeri is scheduled to appear before the Vincent Musyoka Musau-led committee at 10:00 a.m. in the County Hall Mini-chamber.
“Njeri is expected to apprise the committee on the ownership details of the consignment, country of origin and intended destination of the cargo amongst other concerns,” a dispatch from Parliament said.
Following government officials' assertion that the consignment the businesswoman claimed belonged to Galana Energies Limited, the businesswoman has found herself in the focus of controversy.
The Kenya Ports Authority and Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir have insisted that Njeri is not the real owner of the oil shipment, claiming she used falsified paperwork to make her claim.
In a statement, Chirchir claimed that Njeri's business had not complied with legal requirements by signing the Open Tendering Systems Agreement.
He asserted that through Galana Energies Limited, Aramco Trading Fujairah FZE is the actual importer of the disputed oil consignment.
Shortly after making a statement at the DCI headquarters on November 9, 2023, Njeri—who purports to be the true owner of the Sh17 billion consignment—went missing. She reappeared on November 14, 2023.
Surprisingly, Opposition Leader Raila Odinga announced on Monday that CS Davis Chirchir for Energy and CS Njuguna Ndung'u for Treasury should step down due to the Sh17 billion oil transaction.
Raila said that both of them had broken the law.
"CSs Davis Chirchir and Njuguna Ndung'u have gone against the constitution, committed criminal offences, and abused office. They must not only resign but also be prosecuted," Raila alleged.
"Also, the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum must make public the Supplier Purchase Agreement signed with the oil companies."
The leader of Azimio said that the government-to-government agreement was a plot to steal money from the public coffers in violation of the law.
"We challenge the government to share evidence of the oil payments and show documents indicating when they were made, as well as bank accounts and recipients," he said.
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