By Jemimah Mawia
Laikipia University
Kenya is protesting again, and this time it is not about politics, it is about fuel. On 14th October 2026, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority, EPRA, announced a sharp increase in fuel prices. Super Petrol went up by 12 shillings and 93 cents, Diesel by 9 shillings and 90 cents, and Kerosene by a painful 28 shillings and 49 cents. For many Kenyans who were already struggling, this was the last straw. On Monday 20th October, as the country was celebrating Mashujaa Day in Eldoret, a different celebration of anger was happening on Kimathi Street in Nairobi.
Youths, boda riders, drivers and ordinary mwananchi came out to protest the high fuel prices. Police responded with force. Teargas was thrown, people were chased, and even a Citizen TV journalist, Odee Francis, who was covering the protests, was arrested, roughed up, his clothes torn, and bundled into a police land cruiser before being taken to Central Police Station.
The effect of high fuel prices is felt everywhere, because fuel is the blood of the Kenyan economy. When fuel goes up, everything goes up. The matatu that used to charge 50 shillings from Kangemi to town now charges 80 shillings. The boda boda man who used to carry you for 100 shillings now asks for 200, because he has to buy expensive petrol.
The farmer in Eldoret who uses diesel for his tractor now spends double to plough his land, and when he harvests his maize, he spends more to transport it to Nairobi. To recover his money, he increases the price of maize flour.
The mama mboga in Gikomba who gets her vegetables from Marikiti also pays more for transport, and so she increases the price of onions and tomatoes. Kerosene, which is used by poor families in the village who have no electricity for cooking and lighting, has become the most expensive, meaning a family that already has no food now sits in darkness.
The protest is therefore not just about petrol in cars. It is about survival. A high fuel price kills the common mwananchi slowly. It increases the cost of living, it kills small businesses, it causes inflation, it makes our goods expensive compared to Tanzania and Uganda, and it pushes more young people into unemployment because companies cannot afford to run their machines and delivery vans.
How can this be controlled? First, the government must stop using fuel as a cash cow. A large part of the fuel price is not the real cost of fuel, but taxes. There is Road Maintenance Levy, Petroleum Development Levy, Import Declaration Fee, Railway Development Levy, and VAT.
When all these taxes are added, a litre that lands in Mombasa at 80 shillings ends up at 200 shillings at the pump. The government should reduce or suspend some of these levies, especially when global prices are high.
Second, the government should bring back a fuel subsidy or stabilization fund that protects Kenyans when international crude oil prices rise. Kenya used to have it, but it was removed. Other countries do it. It cushions the common person.
Third, we must control greed and corruption in the fuel sector. Reports have shown how some companies create artificial shortages to increase prices. EPRA must be transparent and tell Kenyans how they calculate the prices.
Fourth, the government should invest in alternative transport. If we had a working railway and electric buses in Nairobi, Mombasa and Kisumu, people would not depend so much on matatus that use expensive diesel. We should also encourage use of LPG gas for cooking instead of kerosene, by reducing gas prices.
What should the government of Kenya do to ensure it does not kill the common mwananchi? It must listen. The fact that people were protesting on Mashujaa Day, a day we celebrate heroes, means Kenyans feel like they are being treated as slaves in their own country. The government should not use police to beat and arrest those who complain.
The arrest of a journalist who was doing his job is a sign that the government wants to hide the pain instead of healing it. Instead of teargas, the government should hold public participation forums and explain its plans.
The government must also fulfil its promises. On Mashujaa Day, President Ruto said he will exempt Kenyans earning below Sh32,333 from PAYE and scrap some mobile phone taxes. That is a good step, but it will mean nothing if fuel eats that money. If you save 2000 shillings from tax but spend 5000 extra on fuel and food, you are still poorer.
Finally, the government must manage the economy better. Strengthen the shilling against the dollar, because we buy fuel in dollars. Fight corruption that steals money that would have built roads and subsidized fuel. Support local production so we don't import everything.
Kenyans are not lazy. We are hardworking. The boda rider wakes up at 4am, the farmer digs from morning to evening, the student walks to school. But when fuel prices go up every month, it feels like the government is punishing hard work. If the government does not control fuel prices, the protests we saw on Kimathi Street will spread to every street in Kenya, because a hungry mwananchi has nothing to lose.
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