Four reported killed, 30 injured, in Kenyan fuel price protests

At least four people have been killed and 30 injured in Kenya amid nationwide protests over sharply rising fuel prices.

At least 348 people were arrested on Monday, according to Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen, as people gathered in the streets to show support for a nationwide public transport strike.

The government will likely be wary, given that protests over the past two years have threatened to become uncontrollable, despite brutal crackdowns that killed dozens.

“We lost four Kenyans in today’s ⁠violence, which also ⁠saw more than 30 ⁠people injured,” Murkomen said during a televised press conference.

The streets leading towards Nairobi’s centre were deserted on Monday after police fired tear gas at protesters, who had thrown stones and had blocked major roads with burning tyres, Al Jazeera’s Malcom Webb reported from the Kenyan capital.

Strikes have affected major cities, including the capital and the southern city of Mombasa, where many people rely on bus services. Commuters in several towns were forced to walk long distances to work and school.

Transport unions have demanded that the government reverse a recent fuel price increase. Kenya hiked retail fuel prices by as much as 23.5 percent last week, following a 24.2 percent rise last month.

Higher fuel costs are now pushing prices of food and other basic goods, straining the resources of many already struggling in the country’s economy.

“This demonstration has brought the city to a near standstill,” Webb said. “It started with the private bus operators, which provide most transport for hundreds of thousands of people commuting every day.”

The Ministry of Energy and Petroleum defended the fuel hike, saying that the decision was taken against the backdrop of sustained volatility in global oil markets due to the war in Iran.

One of many African countries dependent on fuel imports from the Gulf, Kenya has been heavily affected by Iran’s effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil shipments normally pass.

Murkomen asserted that most of the East African country remained peaceful, but alleged that “criminal elements” had been mobilised to target government and personal property. He claimed the protests had “been hijacked by political actors for political ends”.

However, opposition figure Rigathi Gachagua accused President William Ruto and his business associates of taking advantage of Kenyans and influencing prices to increase profit margins.

“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. This is crippling for people trying to get by and for those in the transport business,” Webb said.

Criticism over the deaths was swift. Kenyan rights group Vocal Africa said on social media that it “strongly condemns the use of lethal force by law enforcement that has tragically claimed the lives of four citizens during fuel protests”.