NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 25 — A leadership dispute at the National Oil Corporation of Kenya (NOC) has moved to the High Court, with a petitioner seeking orders preventing Acting Chief Executive Duncan Waziri from having his tenure extended or being appointed permanently after the corporation cancelled its search for a substantive CEO.
The petition introduces fresh uncertainty at the top of one of Kenya’s strategic state-owned energy companies at a time when National Oil is pursuing a wider revitalisation programme and the country’s transport sector continues to face pressure from petroleum costs.
The petitioner wants the High Court to intervene before any decision is taken to extend Waziri’s acting tenure or appoint him as substantive chief executive.
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The legal challenge follows the cancellation of a recruitment exercise that had been initiated to identify a permanent CEO.
The recruitment had been part of a wider scramble for leadership positions across several of Kenya’s major state-owned energy institutions. Reports earlier this month indicated that National Oil was among institutions seeking new chief executives following the end of former CEO Gideon ole Morintat’s tenure. (thehorizonwire.co.ke)
National Oil’s careers page currently shows no vacancies. (National Oil Corporation of Kenya)
Petitioner wants court to stop extension
At the centre of the case is the possibility that Waziri could remain at the helm despite the recruitment exercise being cancelled.
The petitioner is seeking conservatory and interim orders suspending any extension of his tenure or appointment to the substantive CEO position until the case has been heard and determined.
The court is also being asked to grant any other interim relief it considers appropriate under Article 23(3) of the Constitution and the rules governing constitutional rights litigation.
The petition does not itself determine whether Waziri can or cannot remain in office.
That question is now before the court, and unless an order has already been issued, the relief being sought should be treated as a request by the petitioner rather than a judicial finding.
Who is Duncan Waziri?
National Oil currently lists Waziri as its Acting Chief Executive Officer.
He previously served as Supply Manager and Acting General Manager for Finance at the corporation.
According to his official National Oil profile, Waziri holds a bachelor’s degree in Building Economics from the University of Nairobi and a master’s degree in Project Management from the University of Manchester.
His previous private-sector experience includes positions at Kenya Shell, Total Kenya, DHL and G4S.
His appointment as acting CEO followed the end of Morintat’s six-year tenure.
Leadership battle comes during National Oil restructuring
The timing makes the dispute more significant than an ordinary executive appointment.
National Oil is an integrated petroleum company with activities covering the petroleum supply chain, including upstream exploration, infrastructure development and downstream marketing.
The government has also been pursuing a broader effort to revive the corporation.
In July, the State Department for Public Investments and Assets Management said National Oil had recently been converted into a Government-Owned Enterprise following enactment of the Government-Owned Enterprises Act, 2025.
During a meeting with Waziri, Principal Secretary Cyrell Wagunda said the government was committed to supporting National Oil’s revitalisation so that it could fulfil its mandate in the petroleum sector. (Public Investment Management)
That means whoever ultimately occupies the CEO’s office could inherit responsibility for steering the corporation through an important period of institutional and commercial change.
Why National Oil matters to Kenya’s transport sector
For the transport industry, developments at National Oil have wider significance because petroleum remains fundamental to the movement of people and goods across Kenya.
Most of the country’s matatus, buses, trucks, motorcycles and private vehicles still depend on petrol or diesel.
National Oil describes one of its core objectives as contributing to the security of Kenya’s petroleum supply.
That makes the governance and commercial direction of the corporation relevant beyond the energy industry.
Fuel costs remain one of the major expenses faced by public transport operators, and changes in petroleum prices can eventually influence the economics of operating vehicles across Kenya’s extensive road-based transport network.
For Nairobi alone, Metros’ Nairobi Matatu Routes and Numbers database documents hundreds of services operating across corridors such as Thika Road, Jogoo Road, Mombasa Road, Waiyaki Way, Ngong Road, Lang’ata Road and Outer Ring Road.
Those services remain overwhelmingly dependent on petroleum-powered vehicles.
Metros has also been following the relationship between fuel costs and matatu fares, particularly as operators argue that fuel is only one part of their overall expenditure alongside maintenance, insurance, spare parts and labour.
This is why developments affecting Kenya’s petroleum sector remain directly relevant to public transport even when they initially appear to be corporate or energy-sector stories.
National Oil faces a changing transport market
There is another longer-term challenge awaiting National Oil’s eventual substantive CEO.
Kenya’s transport-energy market is beginning to change.
Petrol and diesel will remain important for years, but electric buses, motorcycles and other electric vehicles are expanding.
Kenya is simultaneously working on an E-Mobility Bill and supporting regulations as the government seeks to accelerate adoption of electric transport.
For National Oil, that raises strategic questions about what the country’s petroleum infrastructure looks like as parts of the transport industry gradually electrify.
The corporation’s immediate mandate remains firmly tied to petroleum and energy security, but the wider mobility market in which it operates is no longer static.
Court case puts focus back on governance
The High Court petition therefore arrives during a consequential period for National Oil.
The immediate legal issue concerns whether Waziri’s acting tenure should be extended or whether he should be appointed to the substantive position following cancellation of the recruitment process.
But behind that dispute sits a larger question about leadership at a state corporation undergoing restructuring while operating in an energy market that is itself changing.
For now, Waziri remains identified by National Oil as its acting chief executive.
What happens next will depend on both the court proceedings and the corporation’s eventual decision on how to fill the CEO position.
For Kenya’s transport sector, the outcome is worth watching because the institution at the centre of the dispute remains part of the petroleum system that keeps much of the country’s public transport network moving.
