The saga involving businesswoman Ann Njeri Njoroge, who has been in the spotlight of late over the Ksh17 billion fuel importation debacle took a new twist on Wednesday after Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen alleged that the lady only claimed ownership of the consignment after it had already been discharged from the port.
Murkomen who spoke during an interview in Mombasa claimed that the fuel was released to its rightful owners who presented the relevant documentation to the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA).
According to the CS, the 100,000 metric tonnes of fuel was imported by multiple parties, not just one person, contrary to the position adopted by Njoroge and her lawyer Cliff Ombeta.
The CS also claimed that some of the imported fuel was transported to other countries as detailed in the shipment manifest.
"The shipment was already discharged and even shipped to other countries. By the time, she was coming to claim the oil, we were asking ourselves which oil she was talking about," he stated.
"The owners of the consignment came with the papers and were given the consignment. KPA's work was to look at the documentation of the shipment, verify it with the papers of those who came to claim it and release it."
Murkomen further poked holes into the tycoon's claims, wondering why the government wasn't aware of her deal to import the oil from Saudi Arabia.
The CS asserted that the saga would be unravelled in due course as the Ministry of Energy and the authorities continue with their investigations into the matter.
"You claim that you brought in the oil and entered into an agreement with another country. There is no way that a private citizen can enter an agreement with another country and it is not known," he added.
"The bill of lending should have indicated that she was the owner because it was a government-to-government agreement."
Meanwhile, Njoroge who reappeared on Tuesday, after going missing for days, has maintained that she is the owner of the consignment with her lawyer Cliff Ombeta accusing the government of forcefully taking over the fuel from her client.
"I applied at EPRA, paid according to the law and was waiting to receive a permit. As I waited, I went to visit CS Davis Chirchir who told me that the oil didn't belong to me but to a company.
"I told him that I had not sold it to anyone or signed anything with the company hence it's mine. He told me it's not possible and directed me to report to the DCI," the tycoon stated on Tuesday.
