Oil & Gas

Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro has openly criticized the recent spike in fuel prices, accusing the government of giving a misleading and incomplete explanation. While the Ministry of Energy blames global oil prices, Nyoro countered that international fuel prices peaked last year, and not currently, making the justification factually questionable.

Nyoro argued that the core issue is excessive taxation, revealing that over KSh 80 per litre of petrol and KSh 76 for diesel and kerosene go to taxes and levies. He emphasized that tax policy is the only real tool the government can use to cushion citizens, but that the state has consistently failed to adjust taxes in favour of consumers. He also exposed a quiet introduction of a KSh 7 fuel levy last year, imposed even as global prices were declining—robbing Kenyans of relief they should have felt at the pump.

Of greater concern, Nyoro revealed that the government used the levy as collateral to borrow KSh 175 billion, without parliamentary approval, creating "off-book debt" that is absent from official records. He questioned who the lenders are, the interest rates involved, and the long-term fiscal risks, warning that future budgets are now locked up by loans secured against public fuel levies.

Nyoro is now demanding urgent transparency from the National Treasury, including a public audit of all off-book borrowings, and has called for a national dialogue on sustainable fiscal policy. “If we normalize mortgaging tax revenues like this,” he warned, “what will remain of Kenya’s financial sovereignty?”