President William Ruto has revealed how he stepped in to block Uganda from taking a larger share in the Kenya Pipeline Company during negotiations over ownership.
Speaking on Saturday during the launch of the Naivasha–Kisumu–Malaba Standard Gauge Railway in Kisumu, Ruto gave a rare glimpse into the talks that went on behind the scenes.
He said Uganda’s President, Yoweri Museveni, had initially pushed for a 50 per cent stake in the pipeline company a move that would have given Uganda more control than Kenya at the time.
Ruto noted that the proposal raised concern, especially because the Kenyan government then held about 35 per cent of the company. That gap made the talks difficult and dragged them out for some time.
According to the President, the negotiations reached a point where he had to get directly involved and speak to Museveni to find a workable solution.
“I want to thank you, Mzee. When you asked about taking 50 per cent, I spoke to you and we agreed to start with a smaller stake, which you accepted,” Ruto said during the event.
In the end, Uganda settled for a 21 per cent stake in the company.
Museveni had argued that Uganda deserved a bigger share because a large portion of the pipeline is used to transport fuel to his country estimated at about 40 per cent of the total volume.
Ruto, however, maintained that the final agreement struck a balance, while still leaving room for Uganda to increase its stake in future if opportunities arise.
The Kenya Pipeline Company has recently attracted strong interest from both local and regional investors following its listing on the Nairobi Securities Exchange earlier this month.
Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi had earlier announced that Kenyans took up the bulk of shares during the Initial Public Offer, with regional investors from countries like Uganda and Rwanda also buying in.
Despite that interest, the Kenyan government remains the largest shareholder, keeping control of the strategic company, while local investors hold a significant portion of the shares.
The listing has since pushed KPC into the ranks of the top companies on the exchange, underlining its importance in the country’s energy sector.