Ruto hits out at brokers over Dangote’s KPC investment

President William Ruto has defended the sale of a 24.76% stake in Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) to Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote, accusing stockbrokers and market intermediaries of attempting to profit from the transaction at the expense of Kenyan investors.

Speaking during a church service at AIC Kasina in Mwingi, Kitui County, on Sunday, Ruto said his administration had rejected pressure to sell KPC shares at what he described as an undervalued price, insisting that the government was determined to protect public interests.

The President said the government had priced the shares at Sh9 each during the company's initial public offering (IPO), dismissing suggestions that the price should have been lowered to Sh5.

He argued that a lower valuation would have let intermediaries buy the shares cheaply and later resell them to investors such as Dangote at a higher price.

“The same people criticised the KPC share price during the sale, arguing that each share should have been priced at Sh5 instead of the Sh9 set by the government,” Ruto said.

He described some market intermediaries as “shylocks”, accusing them of exploiting the government's divestiture programme for personal gain.

“The people of Kenya will get the true value of the shares we are selling. There is no way we are going to undersell Kenya Pipeline shares to benefit brokers and shylocks like you,” he said.

Dangote confirmed his group's acquisition on Wednesday, October 21, while speaking at the Financial Times Africa Summit in London.

The transaction involved about 4.5 billion KPC shares valued at Sh42.5 billion, roughly US$327 million at reported exchange rates.

The shares changed hands through a block trade on the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE) on Monday, October 19, according to financial market reports. The holding represents about 24.76% of KPC's 18.17 billion issued shares, making Dangote one of the company's largest shareholders.

“We bought 25 per cent of their pipeline network for their distribution of petroleum products,” Dangote told the London investors.

The sellers reportedly included state-linked institutional investors, including the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the Public Service Superannuation Fund and the County Pension Fund.

The acquisition followed KPC's IPO, which opened on January 19 and closed on February 24, 2026, with shares offered at Sh9 each. Trading began on the NSE on March 9.

The government offered 11.81 billion shares as part of its divestiture programme and retained a 35 per cent stake in the company. The offer attracted applications for 12.49 billion shares, representing an oversubscription rate of 105.7 per cent, according to the Privatisation Authority.

However, the IPO faced concerns about insufficient participation by private investors, prompting substantial investments from state-backed institutions and the government. Thirteen public agencies and pension-related institutions reportedly invested a combined Sh64.23 billion in the offer.

The sale has attracted criticism from Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro, who has questioned the circumstances under which public institutions acquired KPC shares during the IPO before selling a substantial block to a private investor months later.

Nyoro described the transaction as a “sweetheart deal”, alleging that public institutions were pressured into purchasing shares during the IPO before transferring them to Dangote.

He also questioned whether the selling institutions secured adequate returns after accounting for transaction costs and dividends. The Treasury rejected allegations of impropriety surrounding the deal.

Other concerns have centred on the IPO's valuation. Before the offer closed in February, fund managers and analysts were divided over whether Sh9 represented a fair price. Lead transaction adviser Faida Investment Bank and broker Dyer and Blair supported the offer price, while other fund managers argued that it was too high. Kestrel Capital subsequently estimated the company's fair value at Sh12.12 per share, 35% above the IPO price.

The subsequent block sale has also raised questions about the returns earned by the public institutions that participated in the IPO.

Ruto, however, maintained that the transaction was evidence of investor confidence rather than a loss to the public.

He cited Kenya Power as an example, claiming that some investors who bought shares at Sh2 were now selling them at Sh19.

The President also alleged that some individuals had attempted to extort Dangote, suggesting that their opposition to the transaction stemmed from their failure to influence the Nigerian investor.

“Their biggest anger is that they tried to extort the Nigerian, but he is tough and cannot be intimidated. There is nothing you can do,” Ruto said.

Dangote's acquisition comes a few weeks after establishing a major oil refinery in Lamu, a project announced at a groundbreaking ceremony on September 30, 2026. The proposed refinery is valued at approximately US$16 billion and is intended to have a processing capacity of 700,000 barrels of oil per day.

KPC operates a pipeline network that transports petroleum products from Mombasa to inland Kenyan markets and neighbouring countries. The investment could therefore give Dangote a significant interest in infrastructure relevant to the distribution of products from his planned refinery.

Dangote has also indicated plans to invest further in expanding Kenya's pipeline network, although the scale and implementation of those investments remain subject to the relevant project arrangements.

The Head of State maintained that the value of KPC shares could double or triple over the next four to five years, attributing the anticipated growth to the company's long-term prospects and the quality of its investors.

However, the projected increase represents the President's assessment, but not a guaranteed financial outcome. Actual share performance will depend on KPC's earnings, dividends, operational performance and broader market conditions.

The President insisted that his administration would prioritise public value as Kenya continues to attract private capital into strategic state-owned enterprises.

“In any case, I want to tell the brokers and the shylocks, I don't work for you. I work for the people of Kenya,” he concluded.