Matatu fares go up 10% as motorists threaten protests over fuel prices
Operators say the new EPRA prices left them no choice, while a motorists' lobby wants the government's fuel import deal audited.
Based on reporting by The Kenya Times and Kenyans.co.ke.
A matatu in central Nairobi. File photo, 2025. Photo: Francis Akuka for the Wikimedia Foundation / Wikimedia Commons, CC0
Matatu owners have told their members to raise fares by 10% with immediate effect, a day after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) raised pump prices for the 15 October to 14 November cycle.
Matatu Owners Association leader Albert Karakacha said operators run businesses and must cover the higher cost of fuel. He apologised to parents who had already budgeted for travel ahead of school closures, and urged the government to cut fuel taxes.
Karakacha said the rise in diesel prices went against an understanding reached with President William Ruto at State House Mombasa in May, after which operators called off a planned nationwide strike.
Separately, the Motorists Association of Kenya said it would consult its members on holding peaceful protests if the government does not answer its concerns. No date has been set. The lobby wants an independent review of the new prices, an audit of the government-to-government fuel import deal and publication of EPRA's full pricing calculations.
The association questioned why kerosene rose by Sh28.49 a litre, more than petrol (Sh12.93) and diesel (Sh9.90), when its reported landed cost went up the least of the three. In Nairobi, petrol now costs Sh226.96 a litre and diesel Sh227.76.
No response from EPRA or the Ministry of Energy to the fare rise or the protest threat had been reported at the time of writing.
