Anger boiled over in Makueni County on Monday morning as protesters set fire to the local United Democratic Alliance offices in Wote, the county’s capital. The attack came on the back of widespread public fury over a sharp fuel price hike that was announced last Thursday, sending shockwaves across the country.
Diesel prices shot up by 46.29 shillings, bringing the cost to 242.92 shillings per litre, a jump that immediately hit ordinary Kenyans where it hurts the most. Matatu operators, already struggling to keep their businesses afloat, wasted no time in raising fares by up to fifty percent and threatened to ground their vehicles in a nationwide strike that would bring public transport to a standstill.
The protests did not stay confined to Wote. Demonstrations quickly spread to Nairobi, Mombasa and several other parts of the country, all rallying under the #RejectFuelPrices banner, with ordinary citizens venting their frustration over living costs that continue to climb in an already punishing economic environment.
UDA leaders, for their part, have pointed to global oil market trends and fluctuating exchange rates as the driving forces behind the hikes. Government officials have gone further, dismissing calls for a strike as unnecessary, arguing that existing subsidies are enough to cushion the impact on the public.
Many Kenyans, however, are not convinced.
Here are photos.
