Kenya’s energy sector woke up to a new sheriff on Sunday — but the house is still on fire.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) has appointed Eng Joseph Oketch as its Acting Director General, stepping in after the arrest and resignation of Daniel Kiptoo — a man now at the centre of one of Kenya’s most brazen energy sector scandals.
Kiptoo stepped down amid ongoing probes into claims of manipulation of national fuel stock data, which allegedly created a fabricated supply crisis and triggered irregular emergency fuel procurement within the energy sector.
In plain language: someone cooked the books to manufacture a fake shortage — then cashed in.
Kiptoo didn’t fall alone. Petroleum PS Mohamed Liban and KPC Managing Director Joe Sang also handed in their resignation letters after being implicated in the scandal, with President Ruto accepting Liban’s exit and the respective boards clearing out Sang and Kiptoo.
The shipment at the heart of the scandal was procured in violation of the Government-to-Government framework, at prices far above agreed contract rates, and the fuel itself was substandard — meaning Kenyans were being set up to pay through the nose for bad petrol they didn’t need.
The five men were arrested on Thursday night, April 2, and held at Gigiri, Capitol Hill, and Lang’ata police stations — a midnight swoop that sent shockwaves through the sector.
Into the wreckage steps Oketch. A 25-year energy sector veteran, he previously headed EPRA’s Electricity and Renewable Energy Directorate and has served in senior roles at Kenya Power and the Rural Electrification Authority before joining EPRA a decade ago.
The EPRA board was unanimous. Board Chairman Adan Haji Ali confirmed there was 100 per cent concurrence that Oketch was the right person to fill the position on an interim basis.
He added pointedly that if investigations clear Kiptoo, the door remains open for his return.
Authorities are now expanding scrutiny into fuel importation processes, regulatory oversight, and procurement procedures across key petroleum agencies.
The rot, it seems, runs deep. The cleanup has only just begun.
