Trans Nzoia Governor George Natembeya has challenged President William Ruto to answer the same question Ruto once posed to his predecessor over fuel prices, as Kenyans along the Uganda border abandon local pumps for cheaper fuel across the frontier.
Natembeya, speaking on April 15, noted that four years ago Ruto publicly questioned why fuel transiting through Kenya to Uganda was being sold cheaper in Kampala than in Nairobi. “Now that he is President, we are asking the same question again: How is this possible?” the governor said.
The question has new urgency. Motorists from Busia County are now crossing into Uganda in large numbers to refuel, with Kenyan pump prices sitting at around KShs 171 to 200 per litre against lower rates on the Ugandan side. Boda boda riders and motorists are also carrying jerrycans across the porous border to buy fuel in bulk for resale back in Kenya.
Officials have pointed to the price gap between the two countries as a driver of fuel diversion, with investigations already revealing that some companies swapped fuel meant for Uganda into the Kenyan market.
Natembeya, self declared luhya community aspirant and persistent critic of the Kenya Kwanza administration, has consistently targeted the government over the high cost of living.