Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has come out to name former MP Cyrus Jirongo as the Kenyan politician who briefed him on the irregularity in the fuel deal that Uganda had with middlemen in  Kenya.

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In his birthday message to his country on Sunday, September 20, Museveni revealed Jirongo made the calls in 2019, prompting him to question the Ugandan energy ministry.

He accused some Kenyan media of taking the matter out of proportion and making allegations that he did not make himself.

"Some Kenyan media people decided, recently, to put pilipili (red pepper) in what I said recently when I was laying the Foundation stone of the 320 million litres oil storage centre at Buyala," Museveni stated.

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"It was a Kenyan Senator called Jirongo who told me this around 2019. I immediately tasked the then Minister Irene Muloni to sort out that mess," he added.

However, the Ugandan president stated that despite his efforts to sort the matter, nothing happened until five years later in 2023 , when Uganda ended the deal with Kenya.

"Nevertheless, nothing happened until 2023 when we linked up with a group known as Vitol that has refineries in different parts of the World and is also a bulk supplier," Museveni said.

His statements come amid mounting questions over the alleged fraud by some Kenyan middlemen who were defrauding the Ugandan government of millions of dollars through a Government-to-Government (G-to-G) oil deal.

Days ago,  President Museveni revealed that a Kenyan Senator had informed him that Uganda was buying oil through Kenyan agents instead of directly from refineries. He explained that the agents were inflating prices by up to 59 per cent, causing a huge financial burden on Ugandan consumers.

Following the reports, President William Ruto has been constantly linked with the alleged fraud by some opposition leaders, prompting the Government to respond.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke