Kenya fuel protests turn deadly amid Iran war disruptions

At least four people were killed and more than 30 injured during protests that erupted across Kenya on Monday, as a crippling public transport strike fueled anger over a sharp rise in fuel prices linked to the Iran war and disruptions through the Strait of Hormuz.

Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen said in a televised briefing a number of people were also injured.

"We lost ‌four Kenyans ‌in ​today's violence, which also ​saw more than 30 ⁠people ​injured," ​he said.

Last week, Kenya's Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority raised retail fuel prices by 23.5%, doubling down on last month's 24.2% hike.

Kenya is one of many African countries which depend on fuel imports from the Gulf, suspended amid the continued closure of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has mostly shuttered the critical waterway, through which a fifth of the world's oil passed in peacetime, since US-Israeli attacks on it triggered the war on February 28.

What do we know about Kenya's protests, public transport strike?

On Sunday, the Transport Sector Alliance announced that vehicles affiliated with its member associations would stop operating from midnight to protest the latest price increase.

Commuters were stranded across the capital, Nairobi, as striking transport operators and protesters blocked roads, forcing people to work from home. Police fired tear gas in some areas as protesters lit tires to block key roads. Schools closed and some events were canceled following calls for strikes and protests.

"They do not want to listen to the citizens when we say the prices are too high," Alex Koome Mwenda, 22, told the French AFP news agency.

The protests spread to other major towns and cities, including Mombasa, Kenya's main port city, where the strike raised fears of supply-chain delays. Other towns, including Nakuru, Eldoret and Nyeri, also saw protests.

How did Kenyan authorities respond to the protests?

Treasury and Economic Planning Minister John Mbadi acknowledged the price hike but said the strike was "completely uncalled for."

"This is a war that we have not caused," he told the NTV broadcaster.

Critics argue authorities could reduce existing high fuel taxes, but Nairobi relies on those taxes to service high levels of debt and a strained budget.

Mbadi told Citizen TV that the Finance Ministry and Energy Ministry hoped to meet public transport operators later on Monday to discuss a solution. He noted that current prices were already subsidized.

Almost all of Kenya's fuel products are imported from the Middle East via government-to-government deals with Gulf suppliers.

The increase in fuel prices has led to a sharp rise in transport fares and the cost of basic goods, deepening pressure on already struggling households. Around a third of Kenya's 50 million citizens still live in poverty.

The energy regulator said the government had spent $38.5 million (roughly €33 million) to cushion consumers from soaring diesel and kerosene prices in its latest review.

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Edited by: Louis Oelofse