What You Need to Know
In response to low turnout at fuel protests in Nairobi, Makau Mutua, a senior adviser to President Ruto, suggested demonstrators focus their energy on opening the Strait of Hormuz. His remarks highlight the connection between local fuel prices and global supply chain disruptions, particularly in the context of rising costs and geopolitical tensions affecting oil transport.
Africa-Press – Kenya. President William Ruto’s senior constitutional affairs adviser Prof Makau Mutua
Constitutional lawyer and senior presidential adviser Makau Mutua set the tone for Tuesday’s fuel protests with a sharp quip on X, urging demonstrators to “go open the Strait of Hormuz”, amid public anger over an exponential surge in fuel prices.
The remark linked soaring global fuel prices to shipping disruptions to the critical shipping waterway that handles roughly a fifth of the world’s daily oil and liquefied natural gas flows.
The Gen Z protests against rising pump prices struggled to gain early momentum in Nairobi, as steady morning rains dampened turnout and left only scattered pockets of demonstrators braving the cold.
Only a small group of young activists trickled onto the streets, some chanting and waving the national flag, as anti-riot police watched from a distance, ready to spring into action at the slightest sign of trouble.
The tense mood, punctuated by “down with fuel prices” chants by a handful of protesters, invited a lightly delivered intervention by Mutua.
“A better idea for those who want to protest fuel prices — please use that energy to go open the Strait of Hormuz,” he wrote on X, framing the local predicament as a global supply chain crisis.
The remark, part sarcasm and part critique, pointed to a deeper reality shaping Kenya’s fuel costs.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) in its April review set maximum pump prices in Nairobi at Sh197.60 for super petrol and Sh196.63 for diesel, following a reduction of VAT to 8 per cent.
The adjustment came a day after an earlier April 14 announcement that briefly pushed prices above Sh200 per litre, triggering public anger and worry over a spike in the cost of living.
Behind the numbers lies a volatile but vital global market supply chain corridor — the Strait of Hormuz — a major oil transit chokepoint located between Iran to the north and Oman and United Arab Emirates to the south.
The Strait connects the major oil-producing nations of the Persian Gulf, including Saudi Arabia, Iran, Iraq, and Qatar, to the rest of the world.
Disruptions there ripple instantly across global fuel prices.
Ongoing tensions involving Iran, the United States and Israel, coupled with a fragile ceasefire that’s currently being re-negotiated in Pakistan, have strained cargo shipment through the narrow channel.
Periodic blockades by both Iran and the US have forced insurance companies to increase risk premiums, driving up costs that ultimately reach consumers in markets like Kenya.
Mutua’s comment served as a reminder that while protests may target local authorities, the drivers of fuel prices are in a land located far away from domestic market policy shapers.
Back on the streets, anti-riot police moved in on the small clusters of demonstrators that had gathered. Officers were seen arresting several protesters in the CBD, with live television footage capturing scuffles as individuals were roughly handled and bundled into waiting police vans.
Police had earlier warned that the demonstrations would be deemed illegal if organisers failed to issue formal notification, as required under public order laws.
Rain-soaked streets and thin crowds underscored the complexity of translating online economic frustration into sustained civic action.
Between the weather, the law and the geopolitics of oil, Tuesday’s protests revealed a movement still searching for traction in a landscape where the causes of discontent stretch far beyond national borders and local economic policies.
The Strait of Hormuz is a crucial maritime chokepoint for global oil transport, with approximately 20% of the world’s oil passing through it. Disruptions in this area can significantly impact fuel prices worldwide, including in countries like Kenya. Recent tensions involving Iran and the U.S. have further complicated shipping routes, leading to increased costs that affect consumers globally. As local protests against rising fuel prices unfold, they reflect broader economic challenges tied to international dynamics rather than solely domestic policies.
