20 armed thugs raided a Kenol Kobil petrol station along Argwings Kodhek in Nairobi and re branded it to Hashi Energy

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Nairobi Kenya: KenolKobil has taken rival oil dealer Hashi Energy to court over alleged violent takeover of its prime petroleum station on Argwings Kodhek Road.

KenolKobil claims armed gang of more than 20 people raided the petrol station on Friday night and kicked out its staff and rebranded the outlet with Hashi Energy logo.

Kenol has been running the station for the past 13 years under a lease agreement and owner of the property sold it to Hashi, which has been selling fuel on the outlet since Saturday, prompting the court action.

“Saturday in the morning, I went to the suit property, and witnessed the fact that the second defendant (Hashi Energy) was purporting to change the logo of the petrol station to its name,” says David Ohana, the KenolKobil CEO, in court documents.

KenolKobil wants Alfaways — the owner of the property — compelled to sell the petrol station and jointly with Hashi pay the damages that stands at more than Sh48 million. Hashi had not filled its replying affidavits.

The dispute over the station started in 2010 when the owner of the premises, who had inked the original contract with Kenol, sold it to Alfaways Limited.

This prompted Kenol to move to court on grounds that their lease agreements provided that it be offered priority in buying the property.

But Kenol in court documents reckons that it was not given the first right to acquire the property and instead Alfaways sold it to rival oil dealer Hashi.

The battle for the station offers a peek into the ongoing battle for control of Kenya’s oil market that has seen multinationals like Shell, Total and Kenol shed market share to the small dealers. 

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