Ruto's claims of Uhuru's State capture come back to haunt him

In a surprising turn of events, President William Ruto is now being accused of the same thing that he fingered and vowed to probe his predecessor, Uhuru Kenyatta, for.

President William Ruto campaigned on a promise to form a quasi-judicial commission of inquiry within 30 days of taking office to investigate alleged state capture and cronyism during retired President Uhuru Kenyatta’s administration

Ruto had famously accused the predecessor of having personal interests in various public ventures and promised to ensure that this was probed by the commission. But this promise was subsequently abandoned by the Kenya Kwanza government.

Now, fresh allegations against Dr Ruto have continued to be made by his former close allies against him and his personal interest in government ventures.

Speaking this week at a meeting of his party aspirants, People's Party of Kenya leader and Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro made various allegations against the president, claiming that several public institutions, including the National Social Security Fund (NSSF), the Policyholders Compensation Fund (PCF) and the Public Service Superannuation Fund (PCCF) had incurred losses after being coerced to purchase 4.5 million Kenya Pipeline Company shares at their public listing, then sell them off shortly to Dangote East Africa Oil Refineries.

"The public funds bought the shares at the IPO for Sh9 each and sold them at the same price, losing money if you factor in the brokerage commissions," the former National Assembly Budget and Appropriations Committee chairman alleged.

Nyoro has gone ahead to accuse the president of having a personal interest in the transaction and went ahead to make other serious allegations regarding the president's involvement in the petroleum value chain in the country.

In an interview, Nyoro claimed the president had stakes in the high stream, midstream and low stream oil sector through various companies and was exhibiting insatiable greed by seeking to control the import, refining, distribution and retail of petroleum products in the country and region.

The Kiharu MP has said that only a public disclosure of the share register of Dangote East Africa Oil Refineries can set the record straight.

"We are talking about a company whose shares led to Pensioners losing money while a leader made money... and we are talking about a transaction where an Investment Bank associated with him handled the transaction that led to this loss," Nyoro further claimed

He said Kenyans deserved to know the truth about the minority shareholders in Dangote EA Petroleum Refinery and whether this had been acquired largely out of misuse of Power.

Nigerian billionaire Aliko Dangote has already publicly admitted to purchasing a 25 per cent stake in KPC at Sh42.5 billion, vindicating the earlier claims by the Kiharu MP on the block share purchase at the Nairobi Stock Exchange (NSE).

The Nigerian billionaire is building a Dangote oil refinery project in Lamu, valued at over Sh2 trillion, whose construction was launched by President Ruto on September 30.

Nyoro has also questioned who the largest individual beneficiaries are of the government-to-government petroleum purchase agreement and the shareholders of the company owning the Turkana oil fields.

Nyoro claimed another company linked to the president had taken over Tanzanian assets.

Dr Ruto had not publicly reacted to the MPs ' claims.

His new claims add to long-term accusations against the president by Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who has linked Dr Ruto to several state ventures and contracts in the past.

Speaking to Kenyans in Boston last month during his American tour, Gachagua made claims linking Zimbabwe businessman Wicknell Chivayo to a Korean technology deal aimed at manipulating the results of Kenya's 2027 General Election.

Chivayo, who died in a helicopter crash in his home country last month, was known for his closeness to the Kenyan presidency, especially after he posted a viral video showing President Ruto personally driving him around his Kilgoris farm, alongside reports of Chivayo’s company (IMC Construction Kenya) securing partnerships to rebuild JomoKenyatta International Airport at over Sh150 billion.

The government denied those allegations.

Gachagua has also claimed in the past that the president had a personal interest in the supply of steel, cement and materials for the state's affordable housing project.

Other ventures that Gachagua has made allegations about the president's interests include the supply of police uniforms, the public transport (PSV) sector, insurance, banking and medical care.

"Literally, he has driven all Kenyans out of business," Gachagua told Kenyans living in the United States during an address in Portland, Oregon.