Four people died during protests in Kenya against skyrocketing fuel prices | Today’s news
(Bloomberg) — Four people were killed and 30 injured as protests erupted in Kenya over soaring fuel prices and paralyzed public transport in major cities.
Bus and taxi operators went on strike from Monday to pressure the government to do more to compensate for the fallout from the war in Iran. Diesel prices have risen by 50% and gasoline prices by 20% in the East African country since fighting began on February 28.
“Although our constitution protects the right to protest and demonstrate, it is quite unfortunate that today’s protests have once again been hijacked by political actors for political purposes,” Home Affairs Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a statement.
About 230 people have been arrested, six police officers have been injured and six vehicles have been damaged, including five belonging to the police, Nairobi Regional Police Commander Issa Mohamud told reporters today.
Protesters used burning barricades and stones to block major thoroughfares in the capital, Nairobi. Residents who use public transport were forced to walk to work, with rioters turning away private vehicles trying to get into the city centre.
Kenya’s public transport system relies heavily on private operators operating fleets of diesel-powered buses and minibuses.
Global fuel costs have risen since the US and Israel attacked Iran and cut off shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. Rising prices have increased pressure on the import-dependent East African economy, which the International Monetary Fund already considers to be at high risk of a debt crisis.
The protests in Kenya follow similar unrest in the Comoros. Last week, a transport strike over soaring fuel prices paralyzed the Indian Ocean archipelago and forced the government to temporarily back down.
To ease Kenyan consumers, the government halved the value-added tax on fuel products and spent 11.2 billion shillings ($86.6 million) from its fuel stabilization fund.
The government still has about 5 billion shillings left in the fund, which it plans to use during next month’s fuel price review, Finance Minister John Mbadi said in an interview with Nairobi-based Citizen TV.
While pump prices remain high, “it has to be recognized that the government is doing something,” he said. “If we hadn’t stepped in as a government, our prices would have been 80% higher.”
The industry has suffered losses of more than 500 million shillings and is prepared to continue the strike until fuel prices are reduced, Albert Karagacha, president of the association representing bus owners, told reporters.
The lobby called on the government to waive all taxes on fuel, which makes up about a third of the pump price. In addition to VAT, Kenya levies eight other fees, including road maintenance, oil development, railway development and import declaration fee.
It has already securitized 28% of its road maintenance charges to repay commercial loans taken out to pay long-term arrears to road contractors.
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–With help from Mike Cohen.
More such stories are available at bloomberg.com
