COFEK moves to block Sh93.68b Gulf Energy oil deal
Crime and Justice
By
Nancy Gitonga
| Sep 25, 2026
The Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK) has moved to court seeking orders to halt implementation of a 25-year crude oil deal worth Sh93.68 billion between Kenya Petroleum Refineries Limited (KPRL) and Gulf Energy.
COFEK, through its Secretary General Stephen Mutoro, wants the High Court to suspend the alleged controversial multibillion-shilling crude oil deal pending the determination of the case, citing secrecy and unresolved questions over its award.
In a certificate of urgency filed at the High Court in Nairobi yesterday, COFEK says KPRL entered into the agreement with Gulf Energy on August 26, 2026 concerning the use of strategic petroleum infrastructure.
The lobby group argues that the material terms of the agreement and the process through which Gulf Energy was selected have not been disclosed to the public.
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COFEK says this raises questions over transparency, accountability and compliance with constitutional and statutory requirements governing public resources and procurement.
“We are urging the High Court to suspend implementation now before contractual rights lock in and Kenyans are left with a fait accompli on strategic petroleum infrastructure,” Mutoro says.
The petition invokes Articles 10, 35, 47, 201 and 227 of the Constitution, alongside provisions of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act, the Petroleum Act, the Fair Administrative Action Act and the Access to Information Act.
COFEK says the agreement could continue being implemented despite the outstanding legal questions, allowing contractual rights, commercial obligations and operational arrangements to accrue before the court determines whether the process was lawful.
“The impugned agreement, which is projected to generate approximately Sh93.68 billion over its term, has already been executed and is capable of continued implementation notwithstanding that substantial constitutional questions surrounding the process leading to its execution remain unresolved,” the petition states.
The lobby group has warned that continued implementation could create long-term contractual and operational commitments that may be difficult or costly to reverse if the court eventually finds the agreement unlawful.
“Unless this Honourable Court intervenes at this preliminary stage, there exists a real risk that the impugned agreement shall be substantially implemented and present the Court with a fait accompli,” COFEK says.
The consumer lobby argues that the dispute goes beyond the commercial interests of KPRL and Gulf Energy because it concerns the utilisation of strategic petroleum infrastructure in which the public has an enduring interest.
“It is therefore necessary and in the wider public interest that the application herein be heard and determined on priority to preserve the subject matter of the petition, avert irreversible contractual and operational consequences and safeguard the court's ability to effectively determine the constitutional questions presented before it,” Mutoro states.
The agreement was disclosed by Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), the parent company of KPRL, on August 26.
KPC said its internal projections indicated that the contract could generate approximately Sh93.68 billion in gross revenue over 25 years.
Under the agreement, KPRL will provide facilities and services for the receipt, storage, handling and delivery of crude oil for export through Kipevu Oil Terminal II (KOT II) in Mombasa.
KPC has, however, indicated that the Sh93.68 billion figure is a projection based on anticipated crude throughput and applicable tariffs and is not guaranteed revenue.
The deal is linked to plans to develop oil resources in the South Lokichar Basin in Turkana, with crude expected to be transported to Mombasa for storage and handling before export through KOT II.
The petition is pending directions.