As the probe continues into the alleged sale of sub-standard cooking oil to Kenyans, the Kenya National Trade Corporation (KNTC) on Tuesday revealed the blunder that led to the incident.
While appearing before the Senate Trade Committee, KNTC Acting Managing Director Peter Njoroge faulted the Kenya Bureau of Statistics (KEBS) for failing to inform the Corporation about the substandard edible oil imported into the country.
KNTC in its report disclosed that it resorted to releasing the flagged oil into the market after failing to receive a letter from KEBS on the authenticity of the consignment. According to the Corporation, it only learnt that the product was sub-standard after the KEBS officials revealed the details to the Senate committee.
“KNTC learnt from the response of KEBS to the Senate that they had issued instructions to KNTC to reject, reship or destroy the specified consignment of the edible cooking oil,” Peter Njoroge informed the lawmakers.
According to Njoroge, despite the incident, a probe had already been launched by detectives from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) into the matter.
During the grilling session, the KNTC officials also admitted to the loss of Ksh6 billion in irregular payments made to several companies that claimed to have imported edible cooking oil on behalf of the Kenyan government.
The multi-billion loss sparked outrage among the members of the committee as they expressed frustration and questioned how the loss resulted from price alterations in the oil market as claimed by the Corporation.
The lawmakers criticised the corporation's response, labeling the situation as a betrayal of Kenya's ordinary citizens, particularly the "hustlers" who struggle daily.
Meanwhile, in September, KEBS officials while appearing before the same committee informed the lawmakers that about 32 million litres of oil flagged was being sold by Kenyans.
KEBS Managing Director Esther Ngari informed the lawmakers that the old which was imported by the government last year was never authenticated by the Bureau. The government reportedly imported the oil between May and June last year.
According to Ngari, out of the 73 containers of the imported consignment, 44 containers contained cooking oil that never met the requisite mineral content as per the KEBS regulations.
"We tested eight consignments and the results we had showed failure. As far as KEBS is concerned, the consignments were rejected and therefore KNTC could not sell them out," Ngari stated.
