Kenya cuts fuel prices after deadly strikes over Iran-related costs
The war on Iran and the struggle over the Strait of Hormuz is affecting countries around the world, most recently Kenya this week.
Kenya's president William Ruto announced fuel price cuts days after deadly protests nearly shut down the nation's capital over rising costs—which increases were propelled by the US-Israeli war against Iran.
Demonstrators blockaded roads and burned tires, affecting commuters across the city of Nairobi. AFP reported that the strikes forced the closure of schools and employees to work from home.
Four people were killed and 30 injured on 18 May, the country's interior minister said, along with more than 340 arrested when protests gathered at the beginning of a two-day nationwide strike by transportation operators.
Rights group Vocal Africa said it "strongly condem[ed] the use of lethal force by law enforcement that has tragically claimed the lives of four citizens" and called for investigations. Kenyan authorities have faced accusations of human rights abuses, including by international observers, in protest crackdowns over the last two years.
“This demonstration has brought the city to a near standstill,” Al Jazeera's reporter Malcom said from Nairobi this week. “It started with the private bus operators, which provide most transport for hundreds of thousands of people commuting every day.”
Grievances were over how the country's energy regulatory authority hiked fuel prices by 23.5% for the May to June pricing cycle, on top of the previous month's 24.2% increase.
The east African nation, highly dependent on imports from the Gulf, raised its fuel and diesel prices because of severe limits on shipping through the Strait of Hormuz as the US war against Iran drags on and Tehran's retaliation continues.
“That message resonated with people frustrated, people who live hand to mouth, who have had to put up with a 25 percent increase last month and the same again announced last week," Webb added. "This is crippling for people trying to get by and for those in the transport business."
On 22 May, after days of talks with transportation groups, which paused its strikes, Ruto said in a public speech that he ordered the government to cut the cost of diesel by 10 Kenyan shillings for the June to July cycle.
“The reality is that no country can completely escape the global oil shock of this magnitude," Ruto said.
Daily ship traffic through the Strait of Hormuz has plummeted from between 80 to 130 ships down to near zero levels—according to data compiled by NBC News—since US and Israel launched its war on Iran in late February.
Ruto warned that there would not be any further cuts, the Nairobi-based Eastleigh Voice publication reported, because he asserted that road maintenance, infrastructure projects, fertilizer subsidies, and other essential public services reliant on fuel-related revenue would suffer if they continued.
Leaders of the transport sector declared during the briefing that their demands had been met by the government, the Daily Nation publication in Kenya reported. And Ruto announced plans to decrease dependence on foreign imports.
“These are not simple decisions," he added. "Leadership requires us to make responsible decisions not only for today, but also for the long-term stability of our country."
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Read and share this social media thread on how the "ripple effects are coming" to countries around the world, by way from the US-Israeli war on Iran, and the resulting struggle over the Strait of Hormuz.
