UDA Party Secretary General Hassan Omar has defended Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi amid calls for his resignation, saying his decision to expose alleged cartels in the petroleum sector helped avert a potential national crisis.
He argued that Wandayi acted in the public interest by flagging irregularities that could have disrupted fuel supply and destabilised the economy.
Speaking during a press briefing in Nyali, Mombasa, Omar commended what he termed as an “act of patriotism” by the Energy CS, noting that Wandayi was “the first one to pull the plug on this matter” involving alleged cartels seeking to profit illegally from the crisis.
He claimed that some players in the energy sector have been attempting to dominate the market and create monopolies that drive up the cost of fuel and LPG.
“There’s been some cartels in the petroleum sector and energy sector who have been trying to profit here illegally from this crisis,” Omar said, adding that such actions risk inflating energy prices “quite exponentially.”
Omar maintained that government intervention, including licensing of additional LPG handlers and strengthening the government-to-government (G-to-G) framework, is aimed at stabilising supply and lowering costs.
Omar further dismissed claims linking the controversy to other officials, insisting that oil importation and regulation do not fall under their mandate.
He expressed confidence in the current leadership, stating that officials like Wandayi understand “where public interest begins,” and credited the CS with raising the red flag in time to prevent further harm.
This follows mounting pressure on Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi to resign following the ongoing fuel scandal.
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale on Saturday called on Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi to either resign or be arrested over the ongoing fuel scandal in the country.
In a post on X on Saturday, April 4, 2026, Khalwale said CS Wandayi, who leads the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum and reports directly to the president, had a duty to prevent the fuel scandal.
“CS Opiyo Wandayi’s core responsibility is to develop, implement, review and enforce policies in the Ministry of Energy & Petroleum. He is the leader, reporting directly to the president. He knew or ought to have known the diversion of condemned fuel worth Sh4 billion, by those three thieves, into the Kenyan market,” he said.
He added that if Wandayi was aware of the saga, he must be arrested immediately for criminal culpability.
“If he knew, he must be arrested immediately for criminal culpability. If he didn’t know, he must immediately take political responsibility and resign or be sacked for cross incompetence,” Khalwale said.
Khalwale further cautioned that if the President fails to act, “the National Assembly must then exercise its constitutional mandate and impeach him.”
The call came in the wake of the resignation of three senior energy officials, including the Petroleum Principal Secretary, the Kenya Pipeline Company Managing Director, and the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority Director General, amid investigations into alleged manipulation of fuel stock data and irregular procurement.
Investigations into the scandal have since widened, focusing on claims that emergency fuel imports were overpriced and of substandard quality, with officials allegedly manipulating supply data to justify procurement outside the G-to-G framework.
A controversial fuel consignment rerouted to Mombasa and flagged for poor quality has intensified scrutiny, raising fresh concerns over accountability and governance in Kenya’s energy sector.
