NAIROBI – The man who speaks for Kenya's petrol station owners has dropped a political hand grenade wrapped in a fuel receipt: the government doesn't own a single litre of the petroleum coursing through this nation's veins.
Martin Chomba, Chairman of the Petroleum Outlets Association of Kenya (POAK), laid bare an uncomfortable truth on Tuesday that cuts through the noise of blame, conspiracy, and street rage. Speaking to a local TV station on April 21, 2026, Chomba stated plainly that every drop of petrol, diesel, and kerosene sitting in tanks from Mombasa to Malaba belongs not to the State, but to private oil marketing companies.
"The government does not own even one litre of petroleum in this country," Chomba said. "It is all in the hands of the private sector, which answers to shareholders."
That single sentence explains why Cabinet Secretaries can issue stern warnings, but pumps still run dry.
The Regulator, Not the Reservoir
Chomba drew a crisp line through Kenya's fuel governance. The government's role, he explained, stops at pricing frameworks, logistics oversight, and compliance checks. It does not extend to opening valves or ordering releases.
"When the public demands that government 'release fuel,' they are asking for something the State cannot legally or operationally do," he added.
This structure, long embedded in Kenya's downstream petroleum sector, leaves the government as a referee – not a player. And referees don't control the ball.
Hoarding? That's Business
Pushback came swiftly in Chomba's tone against accusations that oil marketers are hoarding fuel to manufacture shortages or spike prices. He dismissed the narrative as a misunderstanding of how private enterprise functions in a regulated-but-not-controlled market.
"You cannot indict oil marketers for hoarding when they are operating within a system driven by business and shareholder interests," he said. "The government only regulates logistics."
His defence lands at a combustible moment.
Empty Stations, Full Streets
Parts of Kenya have recently experienced intermittent fuel shortages. The unpredictability has triggered public anxiety, political finger-pointing, and a cascade of rising transport and commodity costs. For ordinary Kenyans already crushed by a high cost of living, an empty pump is more than inconvenience – it is indictment.
And on this very Tuesday, April 21, young Kenyans had vowed to take to the streets over fuel prices and economic distress. Planned demonstrations, organized largely by Gen Z and millennial activists, threatened to test the government's tolerance for dissent.
Gachagua's Warning
Enter former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua. In a Monday interview with K24 TV, he urged security agencies to show restraint.
"Young people have a constitutional right to peaceful protest," Gachagua said, calling on officials to avoid excessive force.
His words land as a cautionary echo. The last time Kenyan youth marched against economic pain, the political landscape shifted. This time, the fuel in their vehicles – and the anger in their hearts – belongs to no one the government can command.