Mtetezi Demands Suspension of Energy and Trade CSs

A grassroots economic justice movement has called for the immediate suspension of Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi and Trade Cabinet Secretary Lee Kinyanjui over their alleged links to the importation of non-compliant fuel currently under investigation.

In a statement, Mtetezi said available documentation shows that a waiver request to the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) was drafted within the Petroleum department under then Principal Secretary Mohamed Liban. The Energy CS’s office was reportedly copied for policy awareness, while a supporting communication is said to have originated from the Ministry of Trade.

The movement argues that this sequence forms a policy-level chain of decision-making now under scrutiny, raising concerns about accountability at the highest levels of government.

Mtetezi expressed concern that while junior and technical officers linked to the matter have already faced arrest, interrogation, or removal from office, senior officials whose offices appear in the same approval chain remain in their positions.

“This creates a perception of selective accountability and undermines public confidence in the integrity of the investigations,” the group said, warning that continued tenure of the Cabinet Secretaries could risk interference—direct or indirect—with ongoing inquiries.

The group is now demanding the immediate suspension of both Cabinet Secretaries to allow for what it termed as impartial investigations. It also called for the publication of all inter-ministerial correspondence related to the fuel cargo, as well as full disclosure of KEBS waiver request documents and approvals.

Further, Mtetezi is pushing for a parliamentary inquiry into the chain of authorization behind the importation, citing concerns over public safety, fuel quality, and what it described as a multi-billion-shilling public interest issue.

The movement has issued a 48-hour ultimatum to authorities to act on its demands, warning that failure to do so will trigger escalation through a formal public interest petition and nationwide demonstrations.