Njeri Wa Mafuta- Raila Trolls Anne Njeri Over Ksh17 Billion Oil Deal [VIDEO]
Raila claimed that Njeri does not look like a woman who would be accused of purchasing a lucrative commodity such as oil for Ksh17 billion.
Azimio la Umoja leader, Raila Odinga, weighed in on the controversy surrounding oil tycoon Anne Njeri Njoroge who went missing after being reportedly linked to the importation of 100,000 metric tons of oil valued at Ksh17 billion.
Speaking on Thursday, November 16 during a media address, Raila claimed that Njeri does not look like a woman who would be accused of purchasing a lucrative commodity such as oil for Ksh17 billion.
He alleged that Njeri acted as merely a representative of unknown individuals he claimed were behind the controversial deal. During the presser, he bestowed her a new nickname, 'Njeri wa mafuta'.
"You have seen that oil lady, and you know the oil business, how much it costs, and the money needed to start that business. Ksh17 billion, and look at her face.
Raila Odinga trolls businesswoman Anne Njeri over Ksh17 billion oil deal#ViralVideos pic.twitter.com/C7oK0kiYyW — Viral Tea Ke (@ViralTeaKe) November 16, 2023
"She represents other people; those are the ones we want to know about because this seems like a circus,” said Raila.
The former Prime Minister also complained regarding Njeri's alleged arrest during the night instead of during the daytime, adding that the mystery surrounding her disappearance hinted at infighting between her and an oil importer.
"Why is it that when there is a problem, someone is arrested at night, blindfolded as if she hasn't stolen or done anything, even if she is a thief why not do it during the day and take her to court? Those are two thieves; they're just trying to have each other arrested,” he added.
"You can have a good look at her. Someone is backing her up. Who is the person?"
At the centre of the entire saga is the fight for ownership of the consignment between two marketing companies who alleged to own 100,000 metric tons of the said diesel.
According to reports, the ship ferrying the consignment had been blocked from leaving the dock and the diesel being offloaded until the ownership dispute was heard and determined.
When Njeri went missing, her lawyer Cliff Ombeta claimed that two individuals took advantage of her lack of an oil importing licence to lay claim to ownership of the oil.
Njeri, who narrated the chain of events that followed her abduction after she recorded a statement at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) headquarters, claimed she was caught in what she claimed was a careful and well-executed abduction when she was allegedly led to an adjacent room to record a statement, to which she discovered that it was a basement.
"The officers asked me if I had taken any drugs, and I said no. When they took me to a car, I was told to surrender my phone and give out the password, and I complied. They took me to an unknown place. I asked why I was separated from my lawyers, but they didn't respond," she told the media.
Ombeta claimed that the government had planned Njoroge's kidnapping and that sketchy power brokers wanted a piece of the juicy Ksh17 billion oil deal.
Meanwhile, Energy Cabinet Secretary Davis Chrichir accused Njeri of forging documents to take possession of 93,000 metric tonnes of diesel said to have emanated from Saudi Arabia.
The CS in a statement dismissed claims by Njeri stating there was no possibility of her owning the cargo since her application for an oil importation license was rejected on October 29 by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
"She failed to meet the minimum threshold to secure the import license and the documents she used to claim the oil consignment were all fake,” said Chirchir.