Protests have spread through parts of Kenya over soaring fuel prices and increased cost of living.
The demonstrations began on Tuesday with hundreds of youths taking to the streets and temporarily crippling traffic flow.
At the Kenya National Archives in Nairobi, demonstrators gathered peacefully to sing the national anthem and play football, but police swiftly moved in, arresting at least 11 protesters and deploying water cannons in the CBD. On Wednesday, the protesters were arraigned in court.
No fatalities were reported, a sharp contrast to the 2024 Finance Bill protests, though traders in cities like Embu shut down businesses preemptively.
Last week, Kenyan opposition members called for protests under the social media hashtag #RejectFuelPrices. The calls followed an April 15 decision from Kenya’s Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), which sets maximum retail prices.
Under the revision, petrol prices were set to increase by 16.1 percent and diesel prices by 24.2 percent. The EPRA cited the costs of imported products, which have increased by up to 68.7 percent. Kenya’s fuel imports are heavily tied to Gulf suppliers, and the price of fuel has spiked due to the recent closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
The government dismissed the action as a “mobilisation of gangs”, noting that organisers had failed to file the required 14-day notice for a lawful protest.
President William Ruto also dismissed the need for protests. “There are others saying that because fuel prices have increased globally, they will hold protests in the country. I want to ask, if they protest, will the cost of fuel decrease? We must use our brains to find ways to reduce the price of fuel,” he said, adding that the government had already absorbed part of the price increase through subsidies.
To quell unrest, Ruto announced an eight percent VAT reduction, lowering petrol to Sh197.60 per litre (about $1.53). But the decision failed to appease citizens who were still reeling from a record spike of Sh206.97 per litre (about $1.60).
