The disappearance of businesswoman Ann Njoroge and her claims of having been the importer of 100,000 tonnes of Diesel on the MT Hagui ship continues to be unresolved mystery.
This even as the government came out to absolve itself from the blame.
Ann Njoroge’s lawyer had moved to court claiming that the government had berthed her consignment without permission and sought orders to halt offloading of the cargo.
However, the Kenya Ports Authority (KPA) on Monday, November 13, made public the details of the saga and subsequently highlighted areas of concern.
What was the quantity of oil in the ship
Among the questions emerging from the two accounts given by Njoroge’s side and that given by the government through KPA was the exact quantity of oil in the freight.
As per Njoroge’s lawyers, the ship was carrying 100,000 tonnes of diesel.
However, the KPA stated that the ship was loaded with Gasoli totaling 93,000 metric tonnes.
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As per the Ports Authority, the 100,000 tonnes of Diesel as advanced by the business lady would only amount to 0.09% of the total freight in the contested ship.
“The cargo said to be manifested in the purported Bill of Lading is 100,000 Kilograms (equivalent of 84MT) only, which is approximately only 0.09% of the total product carried on board MT Haigui,” the KPA statement read.
Exact date when the ship departed for Mombasa
According to business lady Ann Njoroge’s side, the contested cargo was loaded onto the ship on October 9 at the Jeddah Islamic Port in Saudi Arabia. But the Kenya Ports Authority contested the date stating that it was practically impossible for the ship to have sailed to Mombasa in two days.
As per KPA, MT Hagui took 10 days to sail from the Jeddah Port to Mombasa.
“The voyage duration from Jeddah anchorage to Mombasa was 10 days, and therefore it is impracticable for the vessel to have been loaded in Jeddah on 9th October 2023, yet she arrived in Mombasa on 11th October 2023,” KPA stated.
Origin of the ship
A document claiming that Njoroge was the owner of the shipment indicated that MT Hagui, the ship in question, originally departed from Azerbaijan and loaded in Jeddah.
In its rejoinder on Monday, nonetheless, KPA affirmed that the origin of the ship was in Saudi Arabia.
Was Ann Njoroge the owner of the shipment
Whilst the businesswoman was adamant on being the owner of the cargo, information published by the KPA states otherwise. In its statement, KPA clarified that shipment was destined to Kenya and several other destinations in the East African region.
In addition, the Ports management authority afformed that document in its possession confirmed that Ann’s firm named Ann’s Import and Exports Enterprises Ltd is not among the consignees listed and neither was it the owner of the MT Hagui shipment.
Also Read: Ann Njoroge’s Lawyer Ropes in Govt as She Loses Ksh 17B Oil
Destination
Part of the shipment (49,091.724MT), as per KPA, was destined to Kenya with the shipper being M/s Aramco Trading Fujairah as nominated by the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum in the government-to-government oil importation deal.
The remainder, KPA added, was transit cargo for neighboring countries including Uganda, South Sudan and the DRC.
In a separate address to the media, Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir acknowledged having met Ann Njoroge in her office when she reportedly went to lay claim of the shipment.
However, CS Chirchir noted that shipment was brought in by a company known as Galana and had since been discharged,
Nonetheless, the CS vowed to see to it that the truth is established. Meanwhile, questions as to the whereabouts of the businesswoman remained unanswered.
