Lower fuel prices and resign, Kalonzo tells Wandayi

Kalonzo said Wandayi should reverse the recent fuel price hike and step down from office.

Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka has called on Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi to immediately lower fuel prices and resign, amid mounting pressure on the government over the nationwide transport strike triggered by soaring fuel costs.

In a press statement, Kalonzo said Wandayi should reverse the recent fuel price hike and step down from office, accusing the government of pursuing policies that have pushed Kenyans into deeper economic hardship.

“The Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Opiyo Wandayi, must take the most consequential act of his tenure and one that history and the people of Kenya will remember: immediately reverse the fuel price hike and resign,” Kalonzo said.

The Wiper Patriotic Front leader also urged President William Ruto to direct his administration to engage the Transport Sector Alliance in dialogue, describing the ongoing strike as a legitimate response to punitive government policies.

He backed the nationwide demonstrations, saying transport operators and ordinary Kenyans were justified in protesting against the rising cost of living.

“Their grievances are real, their members are suffering, and stonewalling them is not governance; it is negligence,” he said, adding that the opposition coalition was ready to facilitate talks between the government and transport players.

Kalonzo further demanded that the government present a transparent framework for stabilising fuel prices and protecting consumers from further economic shocks.

He warned that the continued rise in fuel costs was already disrupting businesses and supply chains across the country, with food prices and the cost of doing business expected to rise sharply.

“The economic consequences are already severe. Supply chains are disrupted, food prices are rising, and commerce from Mombasa to Kisumu, from Eldoret to Naivasha, is grinding to a halt,” he said.

Kalonzo also accused the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) of increasing fuel prices under instructions from the government, alleging that diesel prices had risen by Sh46.29 per litre while petrol prices had gone up by Sh16.65.

People’s Liberation Party leader Martha Karua also threw her support behind the protests, accusing the Kenya Kwanza administration of abandoning its duty to shield citizens from economic hardship.

“Our transport operators and daily commuters are not striking because they want to disrupt peace; they are striking because they can no longer afford to breathe under this administration’s punitive fuel levies,” Karua said.

She criticised what she termed the government’s slow response to the crisis, warning that rising fuel prices would push up the cost of food, household essentials and business operations nationwide.

“Kenyans deserve leaders who work for them, grow the economy, support businesses and listen to wananchi instead of punishing them for speaking out,” she said.

The statements came as Energy CS Wandayi appealed for calm, insisting that the government was working on measures to lower fuel prices.

He said the government would hold discussions with transport sector players in a bid to end the ongoing strike that has paralysed public transport and disrupted economic activities across the country.