Old money is silent-perhaps as silent as the billions quietly minted by reclusive tycoon Mohamed Jaffer, who for decades has dictated the wheat and other imported cereals that end up on Kenyan dinner plates, as well as the gas used to cook them.
With a keen nose for cash-minting opportunities, Mr Jaffer has built a reputation for pulling off mega deals in times of crisis-often unseen and unheard, operating firmly in the shadows.
Now in his late 70s, the Mombasa-based businessman is known among industry insiders as intensely private, methodical and fiercely protective of his commercial turf.
But a controversial fuel import deal-where One Petroleum Ltd is said to have shipped in 60,000 tonnes of fuel outside the government-to-government import scheme-is dragging the low-profile billionaire into the public spotlight.
Mr Jaffer is among top oil sector executives summoned by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) over the multimillion-shilling saga that has already seen senior energy officials resign.
Energy Principal Secretary Mohamed Liban, Kenya Pipeline Company (KPC) Managing Director Joe Sang and Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) Director-General Daniel Kiptoo all stepped down after their arrest in connection with the same scheme.
Besides Mr Jaffer, the DCI has also summoned Angeline Maangi and Paul Limo to record statements over the imports.
But it is the summoning of Mr Jaffer-a tycoon with a stranglehold on critical port infrastructure-that has raised the most eyebrows.
Styled in business circles as the ‘port man,’ Mr Jaffer has over the years entrenched his dominance at the Port of Mombasa, maintaining an iron grip over strategic import channels.
Through the MJ Group, which he chairs, alongside his son Mujtaba, Mr Jaffer has long exercised control over grain and LPG handling at the port. Increasingly, however, his influence appears to be extending into petroleum products-placing him at the centre of Kenya’s most critical supply chains.
A police source privy to the probe told the Business Daily that Mr Jaffer informed investigators he is unwell and would send a representative to record a statement on behalf of One Petroleum Ltd.
The summons allows the firm to dispatch any representative to explain how it came to import the 60,000 tonnes of fuel.
Investigations further show that the consignment had elevated levels of sulphur, benzene and manganese-exceeding specifications set by the Kenya Bureau of Standards.
In a statement dated April 7, One Petroleum said it was among four firms that responded to an emergency fuel supply request issued by the Energy ministry, adding that it would withdraw the super petrol from the market.
Mr Jaffer’s interests extend far beyond fuel. His footprint spans edible oils, fertiliser and clinker terminals-cementing his position as one of the most influential private players in Kenya’s maritime trade.
For over three decades, he enjoyed exclusive control over bulk grain imports-including wheat, rice and maize-into Kenya and the wider region, including Uganda, South Sudan, Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as supplies to the World Food Programme.
But he started small.
From a collapsed car dealership of the 1960, Mr Jaffer started again in 1974 with a Sh20,000 loan and went into pallet manufacturing up until 1983.
When the pallet business started slowing down, Mr Jaffer moved into the container business, and ultimately came up with the idea of bulk grain handling after realising that bagging could be done at the silos for a reduced cost and with reduced waste instead of at the quayside.
His ascendency to the billionaire ranks, has counted in stronger political links built in the Moi-era and cemented in the Kibaki regime, with late Prime Minister Raila Odinga known to defend the tycoon’s turf.
Since 2000, the Kenya Ports Authority had licensed Grain Bulk Handlers Limited, which rebranded to Bulkstream Limited-to handle all bulk grain imports at berths 3 and 4 of the Port of Mombasa.
The exclusive mandate, initially granted for eight years to allow recovery of investment costs, expired in February 2008.
Its expiry triggered sustained pressure to liberalise the sector and introduce competition, driven by surging cereal imports-particularly wheat, whose volumes have grown significantly over the years.
The end of the monopoly has since opened a new commercial battleground between Mr Jaffer and interests linked to Mining Cabinet Secretary Hassan Joho.
Traders had long complained that reliance on a single handler led to delays and high storage charges, prompting KPA to approve construction of a second grain-handling facility.
Seeing a fresh opportunity, Mr Jaffer inked an agreement to sell a controlling stake in the grain bulk handling business to a fund manager controlled by South Africa’s Old Mutual Group.
In 2022, the authority awarded a Sh5.9 billion contract to firms associated with the Joho family to build the second facility, citing food security concerns and the need to reduce reliance on a single operator.
The award triggered a protracted legal battle over procurement procedures, with the High Court initially quashing the deal before the Court of Appeal reinstated it.
The Supreme Court has since overturned that decision, ruling that the procurement failed to meet constitutional thresholds on fairness and transparency.
Meanwhile, Mr Jaffer’s dominance in liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is also facing fresh challenges.
Tanzanian businessman Rostam Aziz, is setting up a rival gas terminal at Dongo Kundu through Taifa Gas, in what could mark the most serious attempt yet to break Mr Jaffer’s grip on the sector.
The High Court recently cleared the Sh16 billion project, allowing construction of a 30,000 tonne LPG facility-escalating what is shaping up to be a high-stakes battle between East Africa’s energy heavyweights. Even as these commercial rivalries intensify, investigators are widening the scope of the fuel import probe.
Detectives have recorded statements from at least 28 individuals drawn from both the public and private sectors, including members of the Vehicle Alignment Committee-a body that coordinates fuel imports and monitors national reserves.
Documents seen by the Business Daily show the committee met on March 18 with 29 attendees, including representatives from the Energy ministry, Epra, KPC, the Kenya Revenue Authority and the National Oil Corporation of Kenya.
Private sector players present included representatives from One Petroleum, Oryx Energies, Gulf Energy, TotalEnergies, Vivo Energy, Rubis Energy and others.
It is at this meeting that the controversial importation outside the government-to-government framework is said to have been initiated.
Former Energy PS Mr Liban reportedly justified the move as a response to supply risks linked to geopolitical tensions in the Gulf region.
So far, senior officials questioned have denied wrongdoing, maintaining that the imports were approved at higher levels to avert a looming fuel shortage.
For Mr Jaffer, however, the episode marks a rare moment in the spotlight for a man who has spent decades building a vast commercial empire quietly-and largely out of public view.