A court in Kenya has temporarily blocked the issuance of an oil importation certificate to the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) after fuel dealers filed a petition seeking similar orders.
Sitting in Machakos, the High Court granted the petitioners’ request for a conservatory order. The petitioners, parties interested in the oil business are Royani Energy Limited, Charles Kombo, John Kinuthia Mwangi (trading as Acacia Ridge Construction).
Issued by Machakos High Court Deputy Registrar on November 07, the Director General of Kenya Energy and Petroleum Authority has been directed not to issue a license or an importation certificate to Unoc in the interim.
The matter, in which respondents include the Kenya Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, the Attorney General of Kenya, the Director General of Energy and Petroleum Authority, and Unoc, centres on the granting of an importation certificate which the parties (petitioners) are challenging.
Numbered E014 of 2023 and before the Human Right Division of the High Court, the case will be judged against compliance in terms of the protection of Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Practice and Procedures 2013, and the violation of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms under Articles 27, 37, 40, 46 and 153 in the Constitution of Kenya.
The matter is up for determination on December 06, 2023,
This as Uganda moves away from Kenyan dealers, granting monopoly to Unoc and Vitol for the supply and importation of petroleum products. But there are fears that the monopoly may lead to high fuel prices and shortages.
Source: Pearl Times
