The paralysis forced the government to the negotiating table.
At a moment when the cost of movement has become a measure of survival, Kenya's Parliament has opened a formal space to examine whether the burden of fuel taxation can be lightened. Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has proposed a suite of legislative changes — trimming levies, removing VAT, capping importer margins — that he believes could reduce diesel prices by more than fifty shillings a litre. The proposals arrive in the wake of a nationwide transport strike that briefly stilled cities and reminded a country how fragile the connective tissue of daily life truly is. Whether Parliament's committees find the numbers sound, and whether the government is willing to absorb the fiscal cost, will determine if this window of pause becomes a path forward.
- A fuel price hike of up to Sh46 per litre on diesel detonated a nationwide transport strike, bringing major cities to a near standstill for two days as matatus, taxis, cargo trucks, and motorcycle taxis vanished from the roads.
- Thousands of Kenyans were forced to walk long distances, pay extortionate fares, or simply stay home — schools closed, supply chains broke, and the human cost of expensive fuel became impossible to ignore.
- Government negotiators offered a Sh10 diesel reduction; transport operators demanded Sh30 to Sh35, and a live press briefing descended into public confrontation before a fragile seven-day strike suspension was finally agreed.
- MP Ndindi Nyoro's legislative proposals — cutting the Road Maintenance Levy, zeroing out VAT on fuel, capping importer margins, and adding a petrol subsidy — have been formally received and routed to two parliamentary committees for scrutiny.
- The seven-day pause is conditional and the underlying pressure unresolved: if committee hearings stall or the government cannot absorb the revenue loss, the strike threat returns and the crisis with it.
Parliament has opened a formal channel for Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro to argue that fuel prices in Kenya can be cut by more than fifty shillings a litre — a proposal that arrives as the country is still catching its breath from a transport strike that briefly paralysed daily life.
Nyoro submitted his proposals to the National Assembly on May 15, and the Parliamentary Budget Office has already routed them to the Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning. His plan has two main pillars: reversing a 2024 decision that raised the Road Maintenance Levy from Sh18 to Sh25 per litre, and removing petroleum products from Kenya's VAT system entirely, dropping the eight percent rate to zero. He has also proposed capping the profit margins of fuel importers and distributors, and adding a Sh5 billion petrol subsidy. Together, he argues, these measures would ease the inflationary pressure that has made fuel the hinge on which the entire cost of living now turns.
The timing is not accidental. On May 14, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority announced price increases that pushed diesel to Sh242.92 per litre in Nairobi. The announcement triggered an immediate nationwide strike. The Transport Sector Alliance pulled vehicles off the road, and for two days major towns nearly froze. Thousands walked to work, paid whatever drivers demanded, or stayed home. Schools closed. Supply chains broke.
The paralysis forced the government to the negotiating table. Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi and Transport CS Davis Chirchir led talks with operators, offering a Sh10.06 diesel reduction. Operators rejected it, demanding Sh30 to Sh35. The disagreement turned public and bitter during a live press briefing before further talks — led by Wandayi and Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen — produced a seven-day suspension of the strike. Operators made clear the pause was conditional: if talks stalled, they would strike again.
The government has pointed to global forces — conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran driving up international prices, freight costs, and insurance — while defending the retention of levies as essential to road maintenance funding. Nyoro expressed confidence his proposals could reach committee as soon as the following week, framing them not as a transport-sector fix alone but as relief for all Kenyans whose household budgets have been hollowed out by expensive fuel. The seven-day window is real, but the underlying pressure — the simple fact that people cannot afford to move — has not gone away.
Parliament has opened a formal channel for one of its own to make the case that fuel prices in Kenya can be cut by more than fifty shillings a litre—a proposal that arrives at a moment when the country is convulsing over the cost of getting anywhere at all.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro submitted a letter to the National Assembly on May 15 outlining legislative changes he believes could lower diesel prices by approximately Sh54 per litre. The Parliamentary Budget Office confirmed receipt and has already routed his proposals to the Budget and Appropriations Committee and the Departmental Committee on Finance and National Planning. Both committees are expected to press him on the numbers—specifically, what his ideas would cost the government and what they would mean for the Road Maintenance Levy Fund, which currently collects Sh25 per litre of fuel sold.
Nyoro's plan has two main components. The first would roll back a 2024 decision that raised the Road Maintenance Levy from Sh18 to Sh25 per litre, cutting Sh7 from the levy. The second would remove petroleum products from Kenya's value-added tax system entirely, dropping the eight percent VAT on fuel to zero. He has also suggested capping the profit margins that fuel importers and distributors can take, and adding a Sh5 billion subsidy specifically for petrol. Taken together, he argues, these moves would ease the inflationary pressure that has made fuel the hinge on which the entire cost of living now turns.
The timing is not accidental. On May 14, the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority announced a price review that increased super petrol by Sh16.65 per litre and diesel by Sh46.29. In Nairobi, pump prices climbed to Sh214.25 for petrol and Sh242.92 for diesel. The announcement detonated a nationwide strike. The Transport Sector Alliance—representing matatu operators, online taxi services, cargo transporters, and motorcycle riders—pulled vehicles off the road. For two days, major towns and cities nearly froze. Thousands of people walked to work. Those who found rides paid whatever drivers demanded. Schools closed. Supply chains broke. The paralysis forced the government to the negotiating table.
Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi and Transport CS Davis Chirchir led talks with transport operators at Transcom House. The government offered a Sh10.06 reduction in diesel prices and raised kerosene prices to narrow the gap between the two fuels and discourage adulteration. Transport operators rejected it as insufficient, demanding a Sh30 to Sh35 cut instead. The disagreement turned public and bitter when Wandayi and Tour Guide Association chairperson Kennedy Kaunda clashed during a live press briefing on Monday evening. After further negotiations led by Wandayi and Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen on Tuesday, operators agreed to suspend the strike for seven days. They made clear the pause was conditional: if talks stalled, they would strike again.
The government has attributed the crisis to global forces—the conflict involving the US, Israel, and Iran has driven up international fuel prices, freight costs, and insurance. Treasury CS John Mbadi and Deputy President Kithure Kindiki have defended keeping some levies in place, arguing that removing them would starve road maintenance and other public services of funding. Yet the pressure on the government to find a durable solution continues to mount. Nyoro expressed confidence that his proposals will reach the committees, possibly as soon as the following week. He framed them not as a transport-sector fix alone but as relief for all Kenyans, whose household budgets have been hollowed out by the cascading effects of expensive fuel.
What happens next depends on whether Parliament's committees see his numbers as sound and whether the government is willing to absorb the revenue loss his proposals would create. The seven-day pause in the transport strike is a window, but not a guarantee. The underlying pressure—the simple fact that people cannot afford to move—remains.
Notable Quotes
The proposals are independent of whatever discussions other sectors of the economy will be having. Whereas rising prices directly affect the transport sector, they also affect all Kenyans directly and indirectly.— Ndindi Nyoro, Kiharu MP
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why does an MP's proposal about fuel levies end up in Parliament's formal committee process? Isn't this something the Cabinet should just decide?
Because fuel prices touch everything—transport, food, inflation, household survival. Once it becomes a crisis big enough to shut down the country, Parliament has to be part of the conversation. Nyoro is using the constitutional process to force a structured debate about whether the government's current approach is sustainable.
The government says global conflict is driving prices up. Can Parliament really fix that?
Not the global part, no. But they can control what Kenya adds on top—the levies, the taxes, the profit margins. Nyoro's argument is that while you can't control the world price, you can control how much your own government extracts from every litre sold.
Why did the transport operators reject a Sh10 reduction if Nyoro is proposing Sh54?
Because Sh10 doesn't change their actual problem. If your operating costs have jumped by Sh46, a Sh10 cut is a gesture, not a solution. They need the reduction to be real enough that they can lower fares and still survive. Nyoro's proposal, if it works, would actually get them there.
What happens if the committees say no?
The strike resumes. The government is in a bind—they can't afford to say no indefinitely, but they also can't afford to lose the revenue those levies generate. The committees have to find a middle ground, or the country stays broken.
Is Nyoro trying to solve the crisis or make a political point?
Probably both. But that doesn't make the proposal wrong. He's identified specific mechanisms—the levy, the VAT—that the government controls. Whether his numbers are right is what the committees will determine.