Uganda has sued Kenya at the East African Court of Justice in Arusha, Tanzania over a dispute involving taxation of petroleum products on transit to Uganda through the port of Mombasa.
In the court papers, the government of Uganda has sued Kenya’s Attorney General in his official capacity as the principal legal advisor to the government of Kenya.
This was after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) requested the Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC) to obtain a licence in order to transport its petroleum products through Kenya.
“UNOC was required by the Respondent to meet certain regulatory requirements including obtaining an Import, Export and Wholesale of Petroleum Products (except LPG) Licence (hereinafter referred to as “the Licence”) from the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) to utilize the petroleum transit infrastructure in Kenya especially the Kenya Pipeline systems in furtherance of the new Ugandan policy,” read part of the court papers.
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Currently, Uganda imports approximately 90% of her refined Petroleum products through the Port of Mombasa in Kenya.
The Attorney General of Uganda had indicated in the court papers that EPRA’s licence was an unnecessary hindrance to the implementation of Uganda’s petroleum policy as the petroleum products in issue were wholly transit goods not destined for Kenya.
Initially, Uganda’s Minister of Energy and Mineral Development on behalf of UNOC, had written to Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, requesting for a waiver of certain requirements for the Licence as the same were not applicable, practical or rational as the petroleum products in issue are transit goods destined for Uganda.
“The Republic of Uganda, at all material times, sought the intervention of the Republic of Kenya to restrain its organs of State from infringing the Principles and provisions of the Treaty and Protocols.
“The Republic of Uganda is a landlocked Country and has the right, under the Treaty for the Establishment of the East African Community and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to which the Republic of Kenya is signatory, of access to and from the sea and freedom of transit through the territory of Kenya by all means of transport,” read part of the court papers.
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Uganda had raised concern over increased fuel prices due to dependence on on Kenyan Oil Marketing Companies (OMCs) to import and supply petroleum products.
However on December 31, 2023, President Museveni expressed his anger with East African Community (EAC) member states for blocking exports from Uganda.
Museveni blamed EAC countries for imposing non-tariff barriers on exports from Uganda, adding that such policies were unwarranted.
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“We shall continue discussing with our East African Community partners and am sure we shall end up with the real common market free of non-tariff barriers.
“Because those barriers hurt residents of all our countries. I have given you a simple example of banning rice. You hurt the Ugandan consumers, you hurt the Tanzanian producers,” said Museveni.
