Nairobi, April 9 -- There is a number buried in Kenya's fuel import scandal that has received far less attention than it deserves. It is Sh58,744 - the difference, per metric ton, between petroleum imported through the government-to-government arrangement and petroleum brought in outside it through the now-notorious MV Paloma cargo.

Spread across a litre of fuel, that gap works out to Sh43.40. Multiplied across 60,000 metric tons, it represents a sum so large it strains ordinary comprehension.

That gap has quickly become the focal point of public outrage, with many voices portraying it as evidence of hidden margins or outright malfeasance. But this interpretation, while politically convenient, risks missing the deeper economic reality....