The Kenyan government has announced that it has authorized the transit of 52 million liters of petroleum products destined for Rwanda through the Port of Mombasa. The fuel will be transported by road tankers from the port to Kigali.
On July 27, 2026, Kenya’s Prime Cabinet Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Foreign and Diaspora Affairs, Musalia Mudavadi, said Kenya is committed to facilitating Rwanda’s access to petroleum products, recognizing that the country is landlocked.
Speaking during a meeting with Rwanda’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Ambassador Olivier Nduhungirehe, in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Mudavadi said:
“It will be about 52 million liters, enough to meet our needs for nearly one month. It will be of great help to us.”
In June, Rwanda and Kenya signed an agreement expected to enable Rwanda to receive refined petroleum products through Kenya.
Kenya’s Cabinet Secretary for Energy and Petroleum, Opiyo Wandayi, said the agreement goes beyond fuel transportation, describing it as a symbol of the growing strategic partnership between the two countries.
According to Wandayi, the agreement will help strengthen economic ties that will benefit Rwanda, Kenya, and the wider East African and Great Lakes regions.
Under the agreement, Rwanda’s first fuel shipment is expected to arrive at the Port of Mombasa between September 4 and September 6, 2026.
Rwanda has also signed a separate agreement with Tanzania to transport 40,000 tonnes of petroleum products through the Port of Tanga as part of efforts to diversify fuel supply routes following shortages linked to the conflict between the United States and Iran.
On July 9, Prime Minister Dr. Justin Nsengiyumva told members of Parliament that Rwanda is expected to begin receiving petroleum products through the Port of Tanga by the end of this month, as the first shipments are scheduled to have arrived by then.
