Ruto's oil production push drives State oil firm NOCK into leadership dispute

A bitter leadership dispute is rocking Kenya's state-owned National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOCK), with the National Treasury and the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum locked in a power struggle over who controls the strategic state corporation, documents reviewed by The Standard show.

The wrangles have created a vacuum at the top of the company, with two competing claims over the position of acting Chief Executive Officer and a separate fight over who has the right to appoint the Energy Ministry's representative on the board.

At the centre of the row is a simple question of who has the power to appoint the people who run NOCK?

The dispute has two parts. The first is who runs the company day to day. The National Treasury has directed the board to keep Duncan Waziri Owuor in place as acting CEO during a transition period.

But last Friday, the board instead appointed Scoline Ojunga as acting CEO, a direct challenge to the Treasury's directive. Ojunga previously served as NOCK's Manager, Internal Audit.

The second part is who sits on the board. The Treasury says a new law, the Government Owned Enterprises (GOE) Act 2025, gives it the authority to appoint independent directors through a competitive process, and that the board should make no permanent appointments during the transition.

The Energy Ministry disagrees, saying it retains the right to appoint its own representative. On September 21, it went ahead and named James Maina Gitonga as its new alternate board member.

Both moves have thrown the state oil firm into deeper uncertainty, leaving NOCK without a clear, unified leadership at a critical moment for Kenya's oil ambitions.

NOCK is Kenya's 100 per cent state-owned national oil company, established in 1981. It holds the government's minority stake in Kenya's oil and gas exploration and production ventures. Its job is to safeguard the country's commercial interests in the sector, making its governance and strategic direction central to the government's long-term economic agenda.

The wrangles are documented across a series of letters spanning more than two years, tracing a slow-burning conflict over control of the state oil firm.

The trouble dates back to February 27, 2024, when then-Principal Secretary Mohamed Liban wrote to NOCK CEO Leparan Gideon Morentat to announce that Apollo Muchilwa would replace Benjamin Oyile as the PS's representative on the board.

Oyile had been transferred out of the State Department for Petroleum. That letter set the pattern, the ministry appointing and removing its board representative at will.

The conflict escalated sharply on August 31, 2026, when Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi wrote to the NOCK Board of Directors.

Mbadi invoked the newly enacted Government Owned Enterprises (GOE) Act 2025, saying the Treasury had appointed an independent search and selection panel to recruit suitable people as independent directors for state corporations. During the transition, the letter said, the board should renew Waziri's acting appointment as CEO.

That directive effectively told the board not to make any permanent appointments while the Treasury reorganised how state firms are run.

Two weeks later, on September 14, the Treasury wrote again. Michael A. Kagika, writing for the Principal Secretary, referred to a September 7 letter that had scheduled a consultative meeting between NOCK's board leadership and the Treasury.

The meeting was being pushed back, Kagika said, because the Director General was on assignment outside the country. The letter again referred to the "transition period."

Then last Friday, September 18, the board appointed Ojunga as acting CEO, a direct challenge to the Treasury's August directive. Three days later, on September 21, the Energy Ministry broke ranks further. Kello Harsama, Principal Secretary for the State Department for Petroleum, wrote to the NOCK chairperson to nominate Gitonga as his alternate board member.

The letter was copied to Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi. It detailed Gitonga's credentials: a Bachelor of Science from the University of Nairobi, a Master's in Exploration Geophysics from the University of Leeds, and training at Imperial College London and the UNDP.

It described him as a registered geologist and a career civil servant who had risen to Chief Superintending Geologist.

The board's decision to install Ojunga, and the ministry's appointment of Gitonga, have now raised fresh questions  about who is actually in charge of NOCK's day-to-day operations.

The Government Owned Enterprises Act, No. 25 of 2025, was enacted to reform how state corporations are governed. It came into operation on December 5, 2025. Section 13 of the Act establishes a search and selection panel for recruiting independent directors to GOE boards.

The Act marks a significant shift. It moves away from the traditional system in which line ministries appointed their own representatives to boards, towards a more centralised and competitive process managed by the Treasury.

The Treasury's use of this provision asserts its authority over board appointments, a move that has triggered turf wars with ministries like Energy, which have historically exercised operational control over their state corporations.

The leadership crisis could not have come at a worse time, insiders and analysts say.

Kenya is on the verge of becoming an oil-producing nation, with first crude oil from the South Lokichar Basin in Turkana expected in December 2026. The project, now operated by Gulf Energy after it acquired Tullow Oil's stake, has received government approval for its Field Development Plan.

The South Lokichar Basin holds an estimated 2.85 billion barrels of oil, with about 429 million barrels recoverable. Initial output is projected at 20,000 barrels per day, rising to 50,000 barrels per day by 2032. The government expects the project to attract about Sh646 billion in capital investment over its 25-year lifespan.

A Final Investment Decision (FID) is the critical point at which an oil and gas company formally commits to proceeding with a major project, approving the final budget and timeline.

The pre-FID phase, which the South Lokichar project has been navigating, involves complex negotiations and technical studies. Stable and competent leadership at NOCK is essential to safeguard Kenya's interests during these negotiations with international oil majors.

NOCK's financial difficulties have compounded the governance crisis.

The corporation has been grappling with debts exceeding Sh10 billion owed to two local banks.

A proposed strategic partnership with Rubis Energy Kenya, intended to rescue the struggling state firm, collapsed after the government failed to clear these loans. A parliamentary committee later ordered a special audit into the deal, describing NOCK as "technically insolvent."

Industry analysts warn that the public bickering between the Treasury and the Energy Ministry sends a damaging signal to international investors.

"Investors look for regulatory certainty and stable corporate governance before committing billions of dollars in capital expenditure," said a Nairobi-based energy policy analyst who declined to be named.

"When two powerful ministries issue conflicting directives to the board of the national oil company, it creates a perception of a dysfunctional state apparatus."

The documents seen by The Standard indicate that the Treasury is pushing for a professionalised board through an independent panel, ostensibly to shield NOCK from political interference.

Conversely, the Energy Ministry's September 21 appointment suggests the ministry is fighting to retain its prerogative to appoint individuals who align with its strategic vision.

The Standard could not immediately reach the National Treasury nor the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum for comment.