The Great Vanishing Act: Odinga Family Moves Be Energy Millions to Secret Tax Haven

In a shocking manoeuvre that has raised eyebrows across the political and business elite, the powerful Odinga dynasty has quietly shifted its substantial 35 percent stake in the lucrative fuel giant Be Energy to a shell company registered in the British Virgin Islands, a notorious zero-tax haven known for its thick veil of secrecy .

The transfer, which took place against the backdrop of a raging national fuel scandal, was confirmed in regulatory filings seen by this publication. It sees the family’s investment vehicle, Pan African Petroleum Limited, completely exit the picture, replaced by a mysterious offshore entity named Africanable Corporation .

A Veil of Secrecy

The British Virgin Islands is not just any offshore centre. It is ranked by the Tax Justice Network as the most significant tax haven in the world, a jurisdiction where the true owners of corporations can hide behind a fortress of anonymity. The decision by the family of the late Prime Minister Raila Odinga to park their assets there has left industry watchers asking one pressing question: What are they hiding?

The Business Daily, which first broke the story, noted that it was “unable to determine whether the transfer of the shares involved an outright sale or asset reallocation.” In the world of high finance and higher politics, such opacity is often a precursor to a storm .

Boardroom Purge and Loyalists Take Over

As the ownership shifted to the shadows, the boardroom experienced a violent restructuring. Political heavyweights Siaya Senator Oburu Oginga and Raila Odinga Junior have been purged from the directorate.

However, do not be fooled into thinking the family has lost control. The vacant seats have been filled by a cadre of loyal lieutenants, ensuring the family’s iron grip on the fuel trade remains unbroken.

Notably, Jackson Awele, the former Prime Minister’s personal lawyer who stood with him during the fierce legal battles against President William Ruto, has been installed on the board. Alongside him is William Ojonyo, a cousin to the Odingas who recently made headlines for publicly castigating Raila’s children .

This is not a retreat. It is a strategic repositioning of assets and loyalists behind a wall of corporate secrecy.

The Crony Capitalism Pipeline

The timing of this offshore transfer is nothing short of explosive. It comes just as Be Energy finds itself at the centre of a firestorm over the controversial Government to Government fuel deal with Gulf giants Saudi Aramco and ENOC .

Critics argue that Be Energy only secured a slice of this lucrative, 180 day credit import pie following a “surprise handshake” between President Ruto and the late Raila Odinga in 2024. This political truce, formalized in March 2025, has since been condemned by economic watchdogs as the epitome of crony capitalism, where business success relies entirely on a close relationship between entrepreneurs and government officials .

As Kenya reels from a separate scandal involving substandard fuel imports that led to the dramatic resignation of top energy officials, the Odinga family’s decision to move their wealth offshore reeks of preparation for a rainy day .

The Succession Time Bomb

While the family scrambles to shield its petroleum billions from prying eyes, internal cracks are beginning to show. The death of Raila Odinga on October 15 last year has opened a Pandora’s box regarding the inheritance of the late Jaramogi Oginga Odinga’s vast empire .

Oburu Oginga himself has admitted to fears that the younger generation of Odingas “might not necessarily enjoy the same cohesion” as their elders. “If anything happens to you or me… these young people—I don’t see them gelling,” Oburu confessed in a past interview regarding the future of the family’s East African Spectre gas business .

With billions of shillings in play and the patriarch gone, the transfer of Be Energy to a tax haven looks less like a business decision and more like a lifeboat being lowered from a sinking ship—or a fortress being fortified against the coming war.

For now, the Odinga name remains tethered to Be Energy through a web of proxies, lawyers, and cousins. But the money? The money has vanished into the Caribbean mist.