Uganda sues Kenya over oil importation agreement

Uganda contends that the stipulated requirements posed an unwarranted obstacle to the execution of its petroleum policy, asserting that the petroleum products in question were exclusively in transit and not intended for Kenya.

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) mandated Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) to furnish numerous documents and fulfill various conditions for the issuance of a license. In response, the Minister of Energy and Mineral Development, acting on behalf of UNOC, petitioned the Kenyan Ministry of Energy and Petroleum for a waiver of certain license requirements, deeming them irrelevant, impractical, or illogical.

Following this plea, the Kenyan Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum indicated an intention to present the waiver request to the Kenyan Cabinet for consideration. Subsequent to the Cabinet’s decision, the Cabinet Secretary urged EPRA to promptly review and align the petroleum import logistics in light of Uganda’s policy shift.

On November 7, 2023, a petition was filed in the High Court of Kenya at Machakos, while UNOC’s reapplication remained pending with EPRA for more than two weeks after resubmission.

“The High Court of Kenya at Machakos on 7 November 2023, without granting the Applicant or UNOC a hearing, issued interim orders restraining EPRA from issuing an Import, Export, and Wholesale of Petroleum Products (Except LPG) license to UNOC,” the court documents disclosed.

Furthermore, the interim orders, initially set to expire on December 6, 2023, were extended to December 19, 2023, and later to January 22, 2024. A copy of the ruling marked as “RMO-S” is attached herewith.

Throughout this period, Uganda consistently sought the intervention of the Republic of Kenya to prevent its state organs from violating the principles and provisions of the Treaty and Protocols.

Uganda contends that, as a landlocked country, it possesses the right, under the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (to which Kenya is a signatory), to access to and from the sea, as well as freedom of transit through Kenya’s territory by all means of transport.

Uganda seeks a declaration that Kenya’s actions contravene various articles of the Treaty and Protocol. Specifically, Uganda demands a declaration that Kenya’s actions contravene the stipulations regarding the issuance of the License, and that Kenya’s prohibition on granting any waiver of licensing requirements for the License infringes upon the Treaty and Protocol.

Additionally, Uganda seeks a permanent injunction against Kenya, preventing the imposition of impractical restrictions on UNOC’s access to the Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) system.