NAIROBI – Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has called for Kenya to use its oil and mineral wealth to help reduce the country’s mounting debt. He warned that Turkana’s petroleum resources must not become a source of wealth for a few private interests.
Speaking in Nairobi as he stepped up his national political profile, Nyoro stated that Kenya should reduce its dependence on borrowing by properly exploiting its natural resources particularly oil in Turkana and minerals in Kwale.
“God has blessed our country because we have oil deposits and minerals. And all the more reason, dear Kenyans, we must guard these assets viciously,” Nyoro said.
His remarks come as Kenya moves closer to commercial oil production in Turkana. The South Lokichar Basin, where Kenya’s oil was first discovered at the Ngamia-1 well in 2012, contains an estimated 2.85 billion barrels of oil in place, with about 429 million barrels considered recoverable over the life of the field.
The government’s current development plan targets initial production of about 20,000 barrels per day, rising to 50,000 barrels per day in a later phase. First oil is expected in December 2026, with crude initially transported by road to the Kenya Petroleum Refineries facility in Mombasa for storage before export.
Nyoro has repeatedly raised concerns about who will ultimately benefit from the Turkana resource. In March 2026, he warned that it would be “extremely wrong and unacceptable” for Kenya to begin producing oil while ordinary citizens failed to benefit. He argued that communities in Turkana and Kenyans generally should see tangible returns from a resource in which public funds have already been invested.
A month later, Nyoro went further, alleging that the same interests involved in the Government-to-Government fuel arrangement were also seeking to benefit from Turkana oil. He accused unnamed leaders of using the energy sector for personal gain and criticized the growing concentration of interests across Kenya’s petroleum value chain.
Those concerns followed the transfer of Tullow Oil’s entire Kenyan working interest to Auron Energy E&P, an affiliate of Gulf Energy, in 2025. Tullow confirmed in March 2026 that it had received a further $36 million payment under the deal, following parliamentary ratification of the South Lokichar Field Development Plan.
Nyoro now says the stakes are even higher because Kenya is facing a major debt burden.
“My warning to those involved in the Turkana oil issue is that you must have the interests of Kenyans at heart. The oil in Turkana should benefit Turkana County, Kenya as a whole, and also help us deal with this issue of huge debt,” he said.
He claimed Kenya’s public debt had reached KSh 13 trillion and that the country was borrowing about KSh 9 billion every day, placing an estimated debt burden of KSh 228,000 on every Kenyan. Nyoro argued that oil revenues should therefore be managed as a national economic asset rather than simply becoming another source of private wealth.
“We are not going to allow you to take over the mineral deposits for your own personal benefit because that is the silver bullet we have economically—oil and minerals—to deal with the issue of debt,” he said.
The timing of his remarks is significant. After more than a decade of delays following the 2012 discovery, the South Lokichar project has entered its development phase, with the government saying commercial production is expected before the end of 2026.
For Turkana, however, the question is not only how much oil Kenya can produce, but how the county and its communities will benefit from the resource. The oil development project covers six fields Amosing, Ngamia, Twiga, Ekales, Agete, and Etom across Blocks 10BB and 13T, now designated T6 and T7.
Nyoro is also proposing wider economic and social reforms. He wants the monthly cash transfer for older persons increased from KSh 2,000 to KSh 3,000 starting January 2028, followed by another KSh 1,000 increase after three years.
He has further proposed doubling the Judiciary’s capacity within five years and requiring it by law to receive at least 1.5 percent of national revenue annually. On state-owned digital services, Nyoro wants the government to establish a company bringing together platforms such as eCitizen and the Social Health Authority before eventually listing it on the Nairobi Securities Exchange, with the government retaining a 51 percent stake.
The Kiharu MP, who has previously indicated that he will not seek another term in the constituency, is increasingly using economic policy and resource ownership to position himself for a wider national political role.
His repeated focus on Turkana oil puts him at the center of a growing national debate over whether Kenya’s long-awaited petroleum wealth will translate into public revenue, local development, and debt reduction or primarily benefit private interests.
