Uganda's UNOC buys 20% of Kenya Pipeline, secures two board seats
What's the deal? Uganda National Oil Company (UNOCDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →) has acquired a 20.15% stake in Kenya Pipeline CompanyDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (KPC), earning it two seats on the pipeline operator's board. The purchase followed KPC's initial public offering (IPO) and listing on the Nairobi Securities ExchangeDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (NSE).
Who's joining? The two new UNOC-linked directors are Ramathan Ggoobi, Uganda's permanent secretary and secretary to the Treasury, and Irene Pauline Bateebe, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development.
What changed? The Kenyan government's holding fell to 35% from full ownership, raising about Sh100 billion. Local investors now hold roughly 41% — including the National Social Security FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → (NSSF) and KPC employees — with foreign investors holding the rest.
KPC also named three more directors: Samson Kipkemboi Burgei, Meshack Otieno Kidenda, and CPA Ronald Kenyanya Nyamosi.
Why it matters: UNOC's stake ties Uganda directly into the infrastructure that moves its fuel imports, giving Kampala a governance foothold in the Kenyan operator. The board is confident the new directors' "diverse experience and leadership will support the effective discharge of its oversight role," said Flora Okoth, KPC's general manager for legal services and company secretary.
The signal: The deal marks a shift from state ownership toward a mixed shareholder base spanning two governments and public markets — a template for how state-owned energy assets in East Africa are drawing in regional and private capital.
Read more: Capital FM
Image credit: Chris
