Uganda Secures Board Seats at Kenya Pipeline Company After Strategic Share Acquisition

Ramathan Ggoobi, P.S

Uganda has strengthened its influence in the region’s energy sector after securing two seats on the board of Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC), following its acquisition of a 20 percent shareholding in the state-owned petroleum transporter.

The appointments see Ramathan Ggoobi, Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, and Irene Pauline Bateebe, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, join the KPC board as non-executive directors with effect from July 28, 2026.

They were appointed alongside Kenyan board members Samson Kipkemboi Burgei, CPA Ronald Kenyanya Nyamosi and Eng. Meshack Heshack Otieno Kidereda, according to a public notice issued by KPC.

Irene Pauline Bateebe, Permanent Secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development

The appointments mark Uganda’s first formal representation on the board of the regional energy company since becoming a strategic shareholder under Kenya’s ongoing privatisation programme.

The development gives Kampala a direct role in the governance of one of East Africa’s most critical petroleum infrastructure firms, as the country seeks to strengthen fuel supply chains and expand regional energy cooperation.

KPC manages a 1,342-kilometre petroleum pipeline network stretching from the Port of Mombasa to inland terminals across Kenya, including the Eldoret depot, the main transit point for refined petroleum products destined for Uganda and neighbouring countries.

The company also operates petroleum storage facilities with a combined capacity of about 1.13 billion litres and a modern marine loading terminal at the Kisumu Oil Jetty on Lake Victoria, positioning it as one of Africa’s leading energy logistics companies.

Uganda’s entry into KPC comes at a time when the government is accelerating investment in downstream petroleum infrastructure to improve fuel security and reduce the cost of imports.

Earlier this year, Parliament approved a US$2 billion (about Shs7.6 trillion) financing arrangement from global energy trader Vitol to the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC). Part of the funding will facilitate the acquisition of additional shares in KPC while supporting the long-awaited extension of the refined petroleum products pipeline from Eldoret to Kampala.

Once completed, the cross-border pipeline is expected to significantly cut the cost of transporting fuel, ease pressure on road infrastructure, improve supply reliability and reduce transit risks.

Uganda currently imports more than two billion litres of refined petroleum products every year, with the bulk entering the country through Kenya’s Northern Corridor, making efficient pipeline infrastructure a strategic priority for the country’s growing energy demand.