Relative calm in Nairobi amid planned protests over fuel price hike

Kenya's capital, Nairobi, has witnessed minimal interruptions to business amid planned calls for protests.

Kenyans rallied on social media under the hashtag #RejectFuelPrices, calling on the government to do away with a recent fuel hike.

On Tuesday (April 21) there was significant police presence in the central business district and other parts of the capital, in anticipation of the protests.

Several protesters were arrested by anti-riot police. 

Joseph Kirangu, a motorcycle taxi rider operating online, told CGTN Africa that while movement is unrestricted, business is slow.

"The number of people in the CBD is significantly less, meaning, I'm getting less ride requests. On the flip side, there is little traffic," he said. 

By midday, most businesses, including public transport services, operated as usual, and the metropolitan train schedule ran as normal.

The National Police Service had deemed the planned protests illegal, saying it had not received any prior notice, in accordance with the Public Order Act. 

The calls for protests followed a recent price review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), which increased super petrol prices by $0.22 to retail for $1.60, while diesel jumped by $0.31 to a record $1.60.

Kenya's parliament, on April 16, passed an emergency Value Added Tax Amendment Bill 2026, which paved way for the slashing of VAT on fuel from 16% to 8%.

The government justified the hike citing global surges in landed import costs driven by disruptions due to the Middle East conflict.