A firm associated with the family of the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga has emerged as one of the beneficiaries of fuel deals under the supply contract between the government and three Gulf-based companies.

BE Energy, where the Odinga family has a 35 percent stake, is among the selected oil marketers that have in recent months imported fuel under the lucrative government-to-government (G-to-G) deal.

Kenya entered the deal with Saudi Aramco, Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and Emirates National Oil Company in March 2023, switching from an open tender system in which local companies bid to import oil every month.

Local oil firms, led by Gulf Energy, buy petrol, diesel and kerosene from the three Gulf companies under a 180-day credit plan and sell the commodities to dozens of dealers, including TotalEnergies, Rubis and Vivo.

Under the supply deal, a lead firm imports the bulk of the cargo per month, with the remaining bit shared by five other marketers, including Be Energy, One Petroleum and Orxy Energies on a rotational basis.

A schedule of the March and April shipment seen by the Business Daily indicates that Be Energy secured a deal to ship in two cargoes of 85,000 tonnes of diesel, One Petroleum (115,000 tonnes) and Gulf Energy got the bulk of tenders of 10 cargoes of 723,000 tonnes of diesel, jet fuel and petrol.

Be Energy became part of the supply deal in the wake of a surprise handshake between President William Ruto and the late opposition leader in 2024, with the two leaders formalising a political cooperation deal in March 2025.

This highlights crony capitalism, where business success relies on a close relationship between entrepreneurs and government officials. Mr Odinga died on October 15.

A confidential document from the Ministry of Energy and Petroleum shows that Be Energy’s first consignment in the March and April cycle of 45,000 metric tonnes was to arrive between March 18 and March 20. Its other cargo of 40,000 metric tonnes was set to arrive between April 1 and April 3.

Read: Price shock as petrol loads imported outside G-to-G deal

“Cargo delivered in 2 (two) shipments, first parcel delivered ahead of date range. Supplier has advised that the cargo will be delivered jointly with part KG06A/2026 (vessel ID). Balance shall be delivered ex vessel MT Redan, loading dates and port to be advised,” said the documents seen by the Business Daily in reference to the Be Energy cargo.

Be Energy bought the two cargoes from Saudi Aramco, the documents show. Kenya has renewed the contract to purchase fuel on credit from three State-owned Gulf companies for two years from the end of 2025 and renegotiated lower margins.

The deal had helped lower the cost of transporting oil to Kenya and the premium it pays to suppliers, the State said, while defending the deal.

It also comes with 180-day credit terms, allowing the country to build up dollars for the purchase over time, rather than requiring about $500 million every month to pay for imports.

Be Energy dealings with the Gulf-based companies come at a time when it’s gaining market share in Kenya’s petroleum sector. In 2020, Be Energy controlled 2.4 percent of the oil market. By 2022, the firm was controlling 3.1 percent of the market. In the six months to December, that control grew to 3.17 per cent after selling 99.95 million litres of petrol, diesel and dual-purpose kerosene.

Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) disclosures indicate that it is currently the seventh-biggest oil marketer in Kenya, only behind the big four multinationals — Vivo Energy (Shell), Rubis Energy, TotalEnergies and Ola Energy.

Be Energy exports petrol, diesel, kerosene, jet fuel and oil lubricants to South Sudan, Uganda, Burundi, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Mr Odinga and his family own 2,801 shares or 35 percent stake in Be Energy through Pan African Petroleum Company Ltd. The family of Saudi Arabian tycoon Sheikh Abdul Kader Al Bakri is the majority owner, with 5,201 shares held through their International Energy World S.A.

Pan African Petroleum Company is owned by Raila Odinga Junior (25,000 shares), Rosemary Adhiambo Odinga (50,000 shares), Winnie Irmgard Odinga (25,000 shares), Elija Bonyo Oburu (125,000 shares), Wenwa Akinyi Oranga (25,000 shares) and Kango Enterprises (250,000 shares).

Kango Enterprises is wholly owned by Mr Odinga and his wife, Ida. They each have 100 shares in Kango Enterprises. Raila Junior runs Be Energy’s Kenyan operations and he has a 1.8 percent direct stake in the firm.

The former Prime Minister and Ida have a 8.75 percent direct stake each in BE Energy, with daughters Rosemary and Winnie taking a 3.5 percent and 1.8 percent ownership respectively.

The death of Mr Odinga may have opened a new chapter of uncertainty as the family grapples with how the estate of their patriarch, Jaramogi Oginga Odinga, will ultimately be shared — including his majority stake in the family’s gas business.

As one of Kenya’s leading political families, long associated with immense influence, the wider family — through siblings Raila and Oburu Oginga — has for decades jointly managed and shared Jaramogi’s estate, which spans several businesses, among them the gas cylinder company East African Spectre.

But with the death of Raila, arguably the most politically dominant figure in the family, questions are emerging over whether this long-standing arrangement — built on shared stewardship of a common inheritance — can endure.

In a past interview, Oburu divulged plans to settle the issue of succession, fearing that the next generation of the Odingas might not necessarily enjoy the same cohesion as the current one.

This placed East Africa Spectre, the family’s Mombasa Road-based gas cylinder business that the former Prime Minister started with his father in 1971, in the spotlight.

The estate of Jaramogi, Kenya’s first Vice-President, owns a majority stake — 52.5 percent — in East African Spectre.

The former Prime Minister owns 90 an 18 percent stake. Oburu owns 12 percent and Ida 10 percent.

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