kymnjoro
Elder Lister
Who Owns Stabex? Who is Jackson Kiplimo Chebet ?
Stabex International Limited was registered in Kenya on 16 January 2009 under the Companies Act, Cap 486. Although incorporated in Nairobi, the company did not establish any meaningful retail presence in Kenya at the start. Instead, its first operational move was across the border into Uganda, opening a single station in Nansana on Hoima Road. This decision was deliberate. In 2009, Uganda’s petroleum retail sector was dominated by Shell Uganda, which held roughly 34% of the market with about 120 stations, and Total Uganda, which controlled about 24% with around 140 stations. Smaller players such as GAPCO, Cobil and Engen accounted for another 15%. That left 31% of the market in the hands of fragmented, lightly organized micro operators a large commercial gap waiting for consolidation by a determined entrant.
Nansana itself was a strategic choice. It sits on the arterial corridor linking Kampala to western Uganda and the Albertine Rift oil fields, a high traffic route used daily by tankers, trucks, commuters and cross border transporters. Positioning the first station there signaled that Stabex was thinking regionally from day one. Incorporating in Kenya while operating in Uganda was equally intentional. Kenya offered a stronger legal and financial framework, more advanced banking relationships, and access to the Open Tender System, the mechanism through which oil marketing companies import petroleum in bulk. To participate fully in that system, a Kenyan legal entity was essential. The strategy was clear: build volume in Uganda first, then use Kenya’s procurement infrastructure to scale across East Africa.
The man behind this strategy, Jackson Kiplimo Chebet who by the way mysteriously using his company, Ultra Eureka Limited, bought Tuju’s disputed Dari property at a public auction in October 2024, Mr Chebet whose life is largely undocumented in kenya is a close friend to President Ruto. What is known is that he comes from the Kalenjin community, the same community as President William Ruto a connection that becomes politically relevant. Very little about Chebet’s early life appears in public records, an intentional opacity according to many observers. The earliest traceable business entity linked to him is Alpha Eureka Farm Limited, incorporated in 2002, producing fruit seedlings in Chemororwoi and Chepkanga in Uasin Gishu County. That agricultural holding would later reappear in the broader Stabex story.
From inception, Stabex’s ownership structure was unusually concentrated. Chebet held 92.5% of the company’s one million shares, with Abram Kipkwet Korir holding 5% and Daniel Kiprop Cherutich holding 2.5%. By 2026, Chebet’s stake had risen to 95% after acquiring Cherutich’s shares. In an industry where most independent oil marketers eventually bring in institutional investors or banks, such concentration is rare. It suggests either significant personal wealth from the outset or that the formal share register does not fully reflect the economic beneficiaries behind the company.
From a single pump in 2009, Stabex grew into a regional energy ecosystem. By 2025, it operated over 200 retail stations, 14 bulk depots, and had active operations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi and the DRC. It supplied more than 560 bulk resellers, employed between 500 and 1,000 staff, and held 14.9% of Kenya’s market, making it the second‑largest player. The company expanded beyond fuel into LPG (Stabex Gas), lubricants (Stabex Lubs), Sta Café convenience stores, vehicle service bays, aviation fuel at JKIA, and a cashless payment card.
Stabex entered Kenya’s Open Tender System around 2011, enabling it to import fuel directly. Market share data shows steady growth: approximately 2.3% between 2022 and 2024, rising to 4.9% by the third quarter of 2025 and 5% by early 2026. Despite this rise in Kenya, Uganda remained the company’s anchor. By August 2023, when Chebet met President Yoweri Museveni at State House Entebbe, Stabex had invested over USD 100 million in Uganda and operated more than 100 stations, with plans for an additional USD 40 million investment. Uganda’s network became the backbone of Stabex’s regional distribution into DRC, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi, transforming the company from a local retailer into a regional fuel logistics player.
Stabex International Limited was registered in Kenya on 16 January 2009 under the Companies Act, Cap 486. Although incorporated in Nairobi, the company did not establish any meaningful retail presence in Kenya at the start. Instead, its first operational move was across the border into Uganda, opening a single station in Nansana on Hoima Road. This decision was deliberate. In 2009, Uganda’s petroleum retail sector was dominated by Shell Uganda, which held roughly 34% of the market with about 120 stations, and Total Uganda, which controlled about 24% with around 140 stations. Smaller players such as GAPCO, Cobil and Engen accounted for another 15%. That left 31% of the market in the hands of fragmented, lightly organized micro operators a large commercial gap waiting for consolidation by a determined entrant.
Nansana itself was a strategic choice. It sits on the arterial corridor linking Kampala to western Uganda and the Albertine Rift oil fields, a high traffic route used daily by tankers, trucks, commuters and cross border transporters. Positioning the first station there signaled that Stabex was thinking regionally from day one. Incorporating in Kenya while operating in Uganda was equally intentional. Kenya offered a stronger legal and financial framework, more advanced banking relationships, and access to the Open Tender System, the mechanism through which oil marketing companies import petroleum in bulk. To participate fully in that system, a Kenyan legal entity was essential. The strategy was clear: build volume in Uganda first, then use Kenya’s procurement infrastructure to scale across East Africa.
The man behind this strategy, Jackson Kiplimo Chebet who by the way mysteriously using his company, Ultra Eureka Limited, bought Tuju’s disputed Dari property at a public auction in October 2024, Mr Chebet whose life is largely undocumented in kenya is a close friend to President Ruto. What is known is that he comes from the Kalenjin community, the same community as President William Ruto a connection that becomes politically relevant. Very little about Chebet’s early life appears in public records, an intentional opacity according to many observers. The earliest traceable business entity linked to him is Alpha Eureka Farm Limited, incorporated in 2002, producing fruit seedlings in Chemororwoi and Chepkanga in Uasin Gishu County. That agricultural holding would later reappear in the broader Stabex story.
From inception, Stabex’s ownership structure was unusually concentrated. Chebet held 92.5% of the company’s one million shares, with Abram Kipkwet Korir holding 5% and Daniel Kiprop Cherutich holding 2.5%. By 2026, Chebet’s stake had risen to 95% after acquiring Cherutich’s shares. In an industry where most independent oil marketers eventually bring in institutional investors or banks, such concentration is rare. It suggests either significant personal wealth from the outset or that the formal share register does not fully reflect the economic beneficiaries behind the company.
From a single pump in 2009, Stabex grew into a regional energy ecosystem. By 2025, it operated over 200 retail stations, 14 bulk depots, and had active operations in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, Rwanda, South Sudan, Burundi and the DRC. It supplied more than 560 bulk resellers, employed between 500 and 1,000 staff, and held 14.9% of Kenya’s market, making it the second‑largest player. The company expanded beyond fuel into LPG (Stabex Gas), lubricants (Stabex Lubs), Sta Café convenience stores, vehicle service bays, aviation fuel at JKIA, and a cashless payment card.
Stabex entered Kenya’s Open Tender System around 2011, enabling it to import fuel directly. Market share data shows steady growth: approximately 2.3% between 2022 and 2024, rising to 4.9% by the third quarter of 2025 and 5% by early 2026. Despite this rise in Kenya, Uganda remained the company’s anchor. By August 2023, when Chebet met President Yoweri Museveni at State House Entebbe, Stabex had invested over USD 100 million in Uganda and operated more than 100 stations, with plans for an additional USD 40 million investment. Uganda’s network became the backbone of Stabex’s regional distribution into DRC, South Sudan, Rwanda and Burundi, transforming the company from a local retailer into a regional fuel logistics player.
