KBC Channel 1

Author: Ronald Owili

  • Wandayi denies approving controversial fuel import as investigation deepens

    Wandayi denies approving controversial fuel import as investigation deepens

    Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has denied prior knowledge of the substandard fuel consignment which was imported into the country outside government-to-government framework.

    While appearing before the National Assembly Departmental Committee on Energy, Wandayi said the 60,000 metric tonnes of fuel worth Ksh 11.9 billion brought into the country by One Petroleum Limited was procured outside the G-to-G agreement the country has entered into with three state owned suppliers from the Gulf.

    Wandayi told Members of Parliament that the decision to procure the fuel consignment was based on recommendations by the ministry’s technical committee following a brief on stock possession where a proposal for super petrol delivery was approved by former Principal Secretary Petroleum Principal Secretary Mohammed Liban who has since resigned.

    “The approval of the Cabinet Secretary was not sought. Of course if it was sought formally, I would have acted on it only on the advice and most definitely I would have escalated it to His Excellency the President,” Wandayi told the committee.

    Wandayi revealed to the legislators that a second vessel by Gulf Energy which was expected to deliver fuel to the country was also stopped having procured the commodity outside the G-to-G framework which commenced in April 2023.

    “When it emerged on 30th of March 2026 that actually this particular consignment had come outside G-2-G, we moved very quickly as such a deviation from the established framework would have required high approvals. I personally moved quickly and briefed His Excellency the President,“ Wandayi told the committee.

    The condemned consignment by OPL which has since been directed to exit the Kenyan market was also found to be substandard.

    “Concerning this particular consignment in question, from the documents provided, certain parameters were off the specifications and from records, a waiver was sought from Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) by the State Department for Petroleum,” he stated.

    The Load Port Report of Analysis of the consignment showed that the super petrol contained excess oxygenics, manganese, sulfur and benzene contrary to the KSEAS1582025 standard.

    Despite procuring the fuel outside G-to-G, Wandayi confirmed that under G-to-G framework, ARAMCO Trading, ADNOC Global Trading and Emirates National Oil Company had subcontracted OPL, Oryx, Galana Oil, Asharami, Be Energy and Gulf Energy to supply the country with fuel.

    As to whether there was a case of data manipulation as alleged, Wadayi asked for investigations to be complete to reveal what actually transpired in the deal that has now turned sour.

    Wandayi said as a result of the fuel controversy, the Ministry has now initiated a comprehensive internal review of petroleum product management systems and processes in order to reinforce transparency, quality safeguards and ensure continued integrity of the supply chain.

  • Seafarers union decries labour abuse in the maritime sector

    Seafarers union decries labour abuse in the maritime sector

    The Seafarers Union of Kenya (SUK) has raised alarm over what it describes as a worsening crisis in the maritime sector, with workers going for months without pay and others detained in foreign countries under distressing conditions.

    The union’s concerns come at a time when Kenya is ramping up investment in the blue economy as a key avenue for job creation and economic empowerment for thousands of unemployed youth.

    In a bid to regulate the sector, improve working conditions, protect seafarers’ rights and align local wages with international standards, the Ministry of Labour recently gazetted and inaugurated the Seafarers Wages Council.

    However, despite these efforts, SUK Secretary General Atie Ramadhan says many seafarers remain trapped in poverty, facing exploitation and earning below standard wages.

  • Dadaab refugees host community benefit from trade bazaar

    Dadaab refugees host community benefit from trade bazaar

    Refugees from the Dadaab refugee camps and the host communities have benefited from a two-day trade bazaar aimed at providing market linkages to at least 41 community groups in a bid to promote peace, security and resilience for the communities living in the area.

    The trade bazaar, which was organized by the Search for Common Ground, a nongovernmental organization, in partnership with the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) provided an opportunity for the locals to overcome weak market bonds that have hampered the success of the livelihood groups due to unsustainable income generation pathways.

    The event further created opportunities for business-to-business networking, allowing the locals to interact with government officials and development partners for better access to micro, small and medium enterprise support programmes.

    Through their Watha Nolasho project funded by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Search for Common Ground has supported refugee and host communities in and around Hagadera Refugee Camp as a way of promoting social cohesion and overcoming persistent socioeconomic challenges driven by protracted displacement, climate related shocks, limited market access, and competition over scarce resources.

    Speaking at the event held in Hagadera town, Search for Common Ground program implementing Assistant, Mariam Mwenje, stated that the project has not only supported 40 livelihood groups under the Watha Nolasho (Communities for Peace) Project, but has also enabled them to overcome barriers to sustainable income generation due to weak market linkages, limited buyer access, and fragmented value chains.

    She added that the opportunities granted to the groups have integrated host and refugee communities, increasing their resilience to both offline and online conflicts through working together in the livelihood initiatives that they have been implementing since last year.

    “We wanted to bring together the refugees and the host communities. We cannot avoid conflicts because it always finds us in one way or the other but how we handle the conflict is what will determine how the conflict manifests,” Mariam said.

    “This project was to bring all communities together and am glad we have done that. We are also happy to see the representation of youth, women and older men in the community groups,” she added.

    Meanwhile, Garissa County Director for Trade Osman Abdi applauded efforts by Search for Common Ground and termed the collaboration as a game changer that will translate livelihood support into tangible economic opportunities, while reinforcing peaceful collaboration across social divides.

    “This is not just an event; it is a solution to access the market. It’s a bridge connecting buyers and the sellers, ideas and investments and also promoting inclusivity between the host communities and the refugees,” said Abdi

    Beneficiaries of the project urged Search for Common Ground to continue supporting more groups, terming the initiatives as a unique approach that is bringing tangible results unlike previous projects that have been implemented in the area.

  • Language barrier denies KRA billions in taxes from Eastleigh traders

    Language barrier denies KRA billions in taxes from Eastleigh traders

    Traders in Eastleigh want the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) to deploy revenue officers familiar with their language which has been attributed to low levels of tax compliance by businesses in one of Nairobi’s busiest trade hubs.

    During a consultative meeting with the business owners, it emerged that small and medium enterprises which operate in the area have reported low adoption rate of the Electronic Tax Invoice Management System (eTIMS) which many traders in Eastleigh have said is due to language barrier.

    Eastleigh Business District Association (EBDA) Secretary General Omar Hussein said many traders in Eastleigh are not conversant with the two official languages, English and Kiswahili  a move which has created gap in understanding tax obligations.

    KRA is now targeting to deploy revenue officers to facilitate effective engagement and provide tailored tax education which is expected to boost compliance in the trade hub.

    “KRA is committed to supporting traders and we will provide the necessary facilitation and guidance to ensure that every business understands and meet its responsibilities including registration, filing and paying their taxes,” said George Obell, KRA Commissioner for Micro and Small Taxpayers.

    With two months left in the current financial year, the authority says its targeting to ensure SMEs within the area and across the country adopt eTIMS to boost revenue collection.

    “Many businesses across the country source goods from Eastleigh but face challenges in obtaining eTIMS invoices, which are critical for expense claims. This is because traders in Eastleigh receive cash payments and avoid issuing invoices to buyers. We are therefore going to ensure that the traders are supported to register on eTIMS and issue
    receipts for all transactions, enhancing transparency and creating a level playing field in the market,” said Obell.

    The authority will also rollout on-ground tax compliance support programme in the Eastleigh aimed at assisting businesses to uphold compliance.

    The initiative will see KRA officers deployed across the Eastleigh business district to offer end-to-end support to traders, including PIN registration, tax filing assistance, eTims onboarding and guidance on tax payments to ensure full compliance.

    In the 2025/26 financial year, KRA has been given a target to collect Ksh 2.97 trillion and so far, the revenue gap currently sits at Ksh 930 billion.

  • Oil back above $100 as US to blockade Iranian ports after peace talks fail

    Oil back above $100 as US to blockade Iranian ports after peace talks fail

    Oil prices rose back above $100 a barrel as energy markets reopened in Asia on Monday after talks between the US and Iran ended without a new deal and President Donald Trump said he would blockade Iranian ports.

    Global benchmark Brent crude was up by 7.3% at $102.30 (£76.32), while West Texas Intermediate was 8.7% higher at $104.94.

    The failure of negotiations at the weekend has raised concerns that the global energy crisis will deepen.

    The price of oil plunged well below $100 last Wednesday after Washington and Tehran agreed to a conditional two-week ceasefire deal that includes the opening of the key Strait of Hormuz trade waterway.

    The strait, through which a fifth of the world’s energy shipments pass, has become a key flashpoint of the Iran war after Tehran retaliated against the US-Israeli strikes by threatening to attack vessels that try to use it.

    Shipments have largely been at a standstill since the conflict started on 28 February, though some countries like India and Malaysia have negotiated safe passage for their vessels.

    The disruption has led to energy prices surging around the world.

    The US-Iran talks were watched closely for signs that disruptions to oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz would ease soon, said economist Chua Yeow Hwee from Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University.

    “Oil prices are likely to remain elevated because expectations now depend on whether the blockade is fully implemented, whether shipping disruptions spread, and whether diplomacy resumes,” he said.

    Major stock indexes in Asia slipped on Monday, with the Nikkei 225 in Japan 0.7% lower and South Korea’s Kospi down by 1%.

    Countries in Asia have been hit especially hard by the fallout of the Iran war as they are heavily reliant on oil from the Middle East.

    US stock futures also pointed to a lower open for Wall Street shares.

    Stock futures are an agreement between investors to buy or sell an asset at a certain time in the future at a set price and can indicate the direction of a market.

    Energy prices and financial markets around the world have seen big swings in recent weeks as investors react to developments in the conflict.

    Brent crude slid to about $90 a barrel on 8 April after the US and Iran agreed a conditional two-week ceasefire that included the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

    Prices have been volatile since then as doubts grew over whether the ceasefire would last and as Israeli strikes on Lebanon continued.

    The cost of oil has now “rewound” to levels seen before the ceasefire announcement and is expected to rise further in the coming days if the conflict escalates, analyst Saul Kavonic from financial services firm MST Marquee told the BBC.

    “The truth is, oil prices are not as high as they normally would be” given the scale of disruption to supplies because traders still hope shipments will resume soon, Kavonic said.

    “But if that doesn’t happen, oil prices will head higher,” he added.

    Trump said in a Truth Social post on Sunday that the US will start “BLOCKADING any and all Ships trying to enter, or leave, the Strait of Hormuz”.

    US Central Command (Centcom) later said the blockade of traffic entering and exiting Iranian ports will begin at 10:00 ET (14:00 GMT) on Monday.

    It will be enforced “impartially against vessels of all nations entering or departing Iranian ports and coastal areas,” Centcom said in a post on social media.

    Centcom also said it “will not impede” ships in the Strait of Hormuz heading “to and from non-Iranian ports”.

    Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who led negotiations for Tehran in Pakistan, says the country “will not submit to any threat, in a statement carried by local media.

    Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Naval Forces said that any military vessels that approach the strait will be considered to be violating the ceasefire between Washington and Tehran and “dealt with severely”.

  • AFA mounts crackdown on dealers of macadamia nuts

    AFA mounts crackdown on dealers of macadamia nuts

    The Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) has intensified crackdown on unlicensed dealers and processors of macadamia nuts across 14 counties.

    The exercise is meant to protect farmers from exploitation, maintain quality, and also minimize rising theft of the produce from farms before it matures, according to government officials.

    Speaking to journalists after an operation that nabbed one of the unlicensed dealers at Kiganjo in Gatundu South, Kiambu County, AFA Deputy Director of the Nuts and Oil Crops Directorate Patrick Kirimi said the offenders will face charges of violating the law.

    He added that the operation is ongoing in all the 14 macadamia-growing counties in a bid to check malpractices that are not only against the law but also harm farmers.

    “We are currently enforcing the crops, nuts and oil crops regulations of 2020, specifically in the field of macadamia because this is the peak period for the harvesting of macadamia, and it has been reported that there are malpractices that are going on in the counties,” he said

    He explained that for one to trade in macadamia, they are supposed to register with the authority and get a license to do clean business, but this has now been penetrated by unscrupulous people who are buying the produce with no license.

    “We want to maintain our quality and those unregistered traders are buying immature nuts from the farmers, which affect the quality of the produce that we are exporting,” said Kirimi.

    In Gatundu, AFA officials who were accompanied by police officers pounced on the unlicensed dealer whom they found still receiving macadamia nuts before they arrested him and carted away part of his equipment.

    Noting that macadamia exports earned the country Ksh 5 billion in 2024 and the proceeds are still in an upward trend, Kirimi said the authority is working with stakeholders to ensure farmers continue to reap more from their sweat.

    He said among the players that AFA is bringing onboard are farmers, processors, marketing agencies, and exporters so as to enhance production and have a structured value chain.

    The official also noted that Kenya is currently the third biggest producer of macadamia nuts in the world after South Africa and China, a feat that he said the Authority is committed to retaining and improving on.

    Kirimi also appealed to processors to abide by the law, maintaining that they stand to benefit from lawful processing and export of quality nuts, which fetches better prices in the international market.

    This, he added, will also help create more jobs for the youth and improve family livelihoods.

    Those trading in macadamia illegally, he warned, risk being fined Sh500,000 or imprisonment of not more than three years or both for contravening the regulations.

    In the past year, Kenya was number three in the world in the export of macadamia to the outside world and according to AFA, the country would want to lead but this they say can only been done through tracing back source of the produce

    AFA’s strict seasonal regulation is part of ongoing efforts to ensure that locally produced nuts meet global standards, while also enhancing the country’s competitive position in international markets.

  • CAK threatens to take actions against suppliers hoarding fuel

    CAK threatens to take actions against suppliers hoarding fuel

    Traders involved in the supply and distribution of fuel in Kenya risk attracting heavy fines for hoarding the commodity in order to manipulate prices.

    As many regions continue to report fuel shortage, the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has issued a warning to Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) who are involved in supply, distribution, and retail of petrol, diesel, kerosene and Jet A-1 against engaging in hoarding to cause artificial shortage contrary to the Competition Act.

    “Fuel is an essential commodity that underpins economic activity and public welfare. Any deliberate attempt by suppliers, distributors, or retailers of fuel products to withhold supply from the market to create artificial scarcity, manipulate prices, or gain unfair commercial advantage is a prohibited practice under the Act,” said David Kemei, CAK Director General.

    On Friday, transport was disrupted after fuel shortage hit Laare town in Meru County as motorists failed to purchase the commodity.

    Reports indicate that most fuel stations within the town have run out of stock, leaving motorists, public service vehicle operators, and bodaboda riders stranded.

    Since Monday, many towns across the country have reported fuel shortage despite assurances by the government that the country has sufficient stock to meet the current demand.

    According CAK, there are indications that some OMCs may be hoarding fuel products or declining to supply non-franchised petroleum retailers in anticipation of a price increase.

    “Take notice that such conduct may attract a financial penalty of up to 10pc of an undertaking(s) preceding year’s gross annual turnover in Kenya. Additionally, the undertaking found to have breached the Act are liable, upon conviction, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to a fine not exceeding Ksh 10 million,” added Kemei.

    Official data indicate that the country currently has 166,595 litres of super petrol, 182,508 litres of diesel and 82,434 litres of jet fuel in stock.

  • JKUAT to assemble 3,000 devices for national digital hubs

    JKUAT to assemble 3,000 devices for national digital hubs

    The government has contracted Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology (JKUAT) to assemble computer devices for use in digital hubs being set up across the country.

    Cabinet Secretary for ICT William Kabogo noted that the digital hubs, a key government initiative, are expected to be set up in all 1,450 wards, each equipped with between 50 and 100 computers.

    He added that the government is looking beyond simple assembly, with plans to have universities assemble computers from components locally.

    Speaking when he toured the institution, Kabogo commended the progress made at the Taifa Computer Assembly Line, saying the government would support expansion to create more jobs for young people.

    He further emphasized the need to train more youth to manage and maintain the computers deployed in digital hubs across the country.

    JKUAT Vice Chancellor Prof Victoria Ngumi said the facility is also playing a key role in training students through hands-on experience.

    Ngumi expressed pride in the project and welcomed the government’s support, noting that the university has the capacity to expand production.

    She revealed that the university is already planning to move to a larger facility dedicated to the project.

  • China’s CPI increases by 1.0% YoY in March, PPI returns to growth

    China’s CPI increases by 1.0% YoY in March, PPI returns to growth

    China’s consumer price index (CPI), a main gauge of inflation, rose by 1.0% year on year in March, data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) showed on Friday.

    The core CPI, which excludes food and energy prices, increased by 1.1% year on year, according to the NBS. On a month-on-month basis, CPI fell by 0.7% in March, the data revealed.

    The producer price index, which measures costs for goods at the factory gate, showed its first increase following 41 straight months of declines. It rose by 0.5% year on year in March, after a 0.9% drop in February, according to the NBS.

    NBS statistician Dong Lijuan attributed the turnaround mainly to imported inflationary pressures and improved supply-demand dynamics in some domestic industries.

  • Nigeria’s Zenith Bank takes full control of Paramount Bank

    Nigeria’s Zenith Bank takes full control of Paramount Bank

    Nigerian banking giant, Zenith Bank PLC has acquired 100pc shareholding in Paramount Bank Limited following the approval by Central Bank of Kenya (CBK).

    CBK says the transaction follows its approval on March 9, 2026 and subsequent approval by the National Treasury and Economic Planning cabinet secretary  on March 16, 2026 in accordance with the Banking Act.

    “The acquisition shall take effect upon completion of the transaction in accordance with the
    terms of the Agreement between the two parties,” said CBK in a statement.

    PBL which commenced commercial banking services in the country in 1995 currently operates seven branches in Nairobi, Mombasa, Kisumu and Eldoret.

    The acquisition by Zenith Bank also incudes Paramount Bancassurance Intermediary Ltd, a subsidiary of PBL which distributes insurance products.

    “Zenith is among the largest banks in Nigeria, with over 450 branches across Nigeria. The bank also has operations in various countries across West Africa, United Kingdom and a branch each in France and United Arab Emirates,” said CBK.

    As of last year, Zenith Bank which is headquartered in Lagos and and is listed on both the Nigeria Stock Exchange and the London Stock Exchange had an asset base of $23.1 billion.