Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has revealed how a Kenyan senator helped Uganda discover that it was buying fuel through middlemen in Kenya.
Speaking on Thursday, September 17, 2026, during the groundbreaking of a new fuel storage terminal in Mpigi District, Museveni said he did not know about the arrangement until the unnamed Kenyan senator informed him.
Museveni said he then questioned Uganda’s then Energy Minister, Irene Muloni, about the issue, but according to him, nothing was done at the time.
The president criticized the use of middlemen, saying the arrangement was costly and could have been caused by either ignorance or corruption.
Uganda later changed its approach and began buying fuel directly through the Uganda National Oil Company, UNOC, and Vitol Bahrain.
Government figures show that the cost of importing fuel has since gone down.
The premium on diesel dropped from 118 dollars to 83 dollars per metric tonne, while petrol fell from 97 dollars and 50 cents to 61 dollars and 50 cents.
Aviation fuel also dropped from 114 dollars and 25 cents to 79 dollars and 25 cents per metric tonne.
Meanwhile, Uganda has started construction of a new 320-million-litre fuel storage terminal in Mpigi.
The facility, being developed by UNOC, is expected to more than double Uganda’s current fuel storage capacity and is scheduled to be completed in September 2028.