The Chairperson of the National Youth Caucus under Democracy for the Citizens Party (DCP), Wanjiku Thiga, has called on the government to subsidize fuel prices, warning that high energy costs are stifling business growth and worsening youth unemployment.

Speaking on a morning talk show with a local station on Friday, April 17, 2026, Wanjiku said that Kenya’s fuel prices are significantly higher than those in the neighbouring region, including Uganda.

“Unfortunately, this rise in cost of well, then that makes industrialization really incapacitated, that means that youth unemployment gets to grow bigger and bigger, and it’s something that is really affecting this country, but if we compare to Uganda, Kenya’s fuel prices are two to three times higher, which means that industrialization is incapacitated,” Wanjiku said.

Cost of doing business

Wanjiku stated that the cost of fuel keeps going up, making it expensive to do business in key sectors, adding that it is hard for young entrepreneurs to keep or grow their businesses.

She cautioned that many of the youth-led enterprises would collapse from rising operational costs if no urgent intervention was made.

Wanjiku said the government should subsidize the cost to ease the cost of doing business and create a more enabling environment for job creation among young people.

“The government should be able to subsidize because we are trying to give the business environment a better place so that we can be able to grow employment for young people. That means that young people continue to be incapacitated in terms of employment and financial capacity. Failure to do so will only deepen their marginalization,” Wanjiku stated.

Kenyans to pay Ksh542M more daily

Kenyans are set to dig deeper into their pockets over the next 30 days, following the latest fuel price review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA), which took effect on April 15, 2026.

The new prices mean consumers will collectively pay an additional Ksh542 million every day for petrol and diesel compared to the previous pricing cycle.

In a notice issued on the night of April 15, 2026, EPRA said the changes were made in line with a tax revision by the National Treasury.

“Pursuant to Legal Notice No. 70 dated 15th April 2026, the Cabinet Secretary for National Treasury has revised the Value Added Tax rate from 13% to 8%,” the authority said.

The regulator outlined new pump prices in Nairobi, noting that “Super Petrol, Diesel and Kerosene now retail at Kshs.197.60, Ksh.196.63 and Ksh.152.78.”

“As a result, the pump price per litre in Nairobi of Super Petrol & Diesel decreases by Ksh.9.37 & Ksh.10.21 per litre respectively while that of Kerosene remains unchanged,” the notice stated.