Centre Region: CONAC dismantles illegal kerosene network, recovers 59 million FCFA.

The Chairperson of CONAC, Rev Dieudonné Massi Gams, made public the information during a press conference in Yaounde Wednesday. He said the network was uncovered during a two-day operation that spanned September 5 to 6, 2025.

Rev Dr Massi Gams said CONAC worked with Judicial Police officers, gendarmerie personnel, and agents of the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy. 

Money recovered, thanks to the operation, he said, was 59,951,400 FCFA. The CONAC boss said the field mission was owing to reports of kerosene scarcity in households, given that the State subsidised product had been diverted to industries, bakeries, and other businesses.

At filling stations, kerosene is sold at 350 FCFA per litre while for industrial purposes, kerosene goes for 560.19 FCFA per litre. The price disparity, he said, had encouraged filling stations to sell in bulk to non-eligible businesses, generating illicit profits and draining the State coffers at the same time.

“Every 1,000 litres of kerosene sold to industries through filling stations translate into a loss of more than 210,000 FCFA to the State,” he revealed. Massi Gams said the practice amounts to corruption and misappropriation of public funds.

He explained that many had violated the directive of the Minister of Water Resources and Energy, Gaston Eloundou Essomba, limiting the quantity of kerosene sold to customers at a maximum of 10 litres.

Announces arrests, seizures

Rev Dr Massi Gams said during the operation, 46 filling stations in Yaounde, Mbalmayo, Mfou, Ngoumou, Mbankomo, Soa, and Obala were visited. Seven suspects, he said, were netted and are currently responding to questions from judicial investigators.

The CONAC boss disclosed that among the suspects are:  Kueguedjo Wambasa Dieudonné, head of Tradex Mbankolo. He said Wambasa had allegedly sold kerosene illegally costing the State to lose over 1.1 million FCFA. He added that Wambasa attempted to bribe CONAC investigators with two million FCFA but the money was seized as evidence.

At Neptune Nyom filling station in Yaounde I Subdivision, the CONAC boss said a pump attendant, Françine Emilie, was caught selling 1,000 litres of kerosene to a bakery after being bribed 25,000 FCFA.

He said officials at a TotalEnergies filling Station in Rue Manguiers were intercepted siphoning 800 litres of kerosene using fraudulent authorisations. He said the case also implicated the head of AFISA Food Industries S.A., Diane Kameni, who allegedly forged documents to mislead investigators.

Massi Gams said CONAC sealed seven filling stations, including; Neptune Nyom, Tradex Mbankolo, OLA Mbalmayo, and CAMOCO Montée Jouvence. A diesel pump at Total Energies Nkolmesseng, he said, was also sealed.

The companies involved such as TotalEnergies, OLA Energy and Tradex, he said, paid huge fines ranging from 3.5 million FCFA to 7 million FCFA. CAMOCO Montée Jouvence, Massi Gams disclosed, paid a fine of 451,400 FCFA. He noted that investigations remain open concerning other filling stations

Denounces confrontation at Gulfin Etoudi

According to Rev Massi Gams, one of the most alarming incidents during their operations occurred at Gulfin Etoudi. There, he said, station managers resisted the controls and allegedly ordered the arrest of agents of the Ministry of Water Resources and Energy who had accompanied the CONAC team. 

The agents, he said, were briefly detained at a gendarmerie brigade before CONAC intervened to secure their release.

Fighting corruption on multiple fronts

According to Rev Massi Gams, the kerosene crackdown is the latest in a series of high-profile operations carried out by the institution. 

He noted cited drives such as Anti-Corruption Clinics; Rapid Intervention Actions on the Douala-N'Djamena Corridor and unannounced controls in schools are among CONAC’s priorities. Sanctions, he said, remains one of the best ways to fighting corruption.

He urged the media to expose corrupt practices. CONAC, he said, takes the media reports seriously in its daily monitoring.

This article was first published in The Guardian Post Edition No:3561 of Thursday September 11, 2025