Political strategist Pauline Njoroge has reframed the debate on Kenya’s high fuel prices, stressing that global events beyond Nairobi’s control continue to reverberate through local markets.
Her remarks come amid a major escalation in the Middle East after the United States and Israel killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, in coordinated airstrikes this weekend.
In a statement released on Sunday, Njoroge said former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s final two years in office were among the most challenging in recent history, shaped by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Russo‑Ukrainian war and severe drought.
These concurrent crises, she argued, exerted immense pressure on global supply chains, pushing up fuel and food prices worldwide and straining Kenya’s economy.
“Only God knows how he managed to hold the country together,” she said, referring to Uhuru’s leadership during that period.
Njoroge criticised the narrative during the 2022 election campaign that attributed high local fuel prices solely to domestic mismanagement and alleged profiteering.
She noted that fuel surged to about KSh 159 per litre with subsidy and KSh 179 without, figures that were used politically despite being heavily influenced by global market forces.
“We were told that the high cost of fuel had nothing to do with global dynamics,” she said, highlighting how complex international shocks were simplified into campaign rhetoric.
Her comments come at a time of heightened global instability. The killing of Iran’s long‑time supreme leader has triggered widespread retaliation and sharp international concern, with implications for energy markets worldwide.
The strikes have already disrupted traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil transit route, further stoking fears of rising fuel costs.
“Nations that import oil, Kenya included, will feel the impact if de‑escalation does not prevail,” Njoroge warned, urging policymakers and the public to consider broader geopolitical drivers when analysing domestic price trends.
She also suggested that President William Ruto may now need to reconsider earlier assertions that fuel price fluctuations were disconnected from global supply shocks.
In conclusion, Njoroge’s remarks underscore how interconnected global geopolitics and local economic realities have become, with Middle East tensions now feeding directly into policy debates in Kenya.