Nairobi residents beware! Monday protest planned over high fuel prices

The Coalition of Human Rights Defenders has issued a notice to the police over a planned demonstration in Nairobi on Monday, October 26 over the high prices of fuel.

According to the letter, received at the Police Service Headquarters, the demonstration will be peaceful and will begin in the Nairobi Central Business District from Kimathi Street and head to State House.

“We, the Coalition of Human Rights Defenders, hereby notify your office of our intention to hold a peaceful demonstration on Monday, 26 October 2026, to protest the high cost of fuel and its impact on the cost of living. The assembly point will be Kimathi Street, with the intended destination being State House, Nairobi,” reads the letter, dated October 22.

Organisers of the demo expect between 500 and 900 people and have pledged to maintain peace while respecting the rights of members of the public during the march.

“We undertake to promote peaceful and orderly participation and to respect the rights of the public throughout the demonstration. We submit this notification for your attention and necessary coordination in accordance with the law,” the letter further reads.

The demo will come six days after another one was held on Tuesday, October 20, when chaos ensued as police arrested some of the protesters, while roughing up Citizen TV journalist Ode Francis.

Kenyans have criticised the sharply rising fuel prices with the demonstration coming after the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) announced the prices for the October-November cycle with a litre of petrol in Nairobi rising to Ksh226.96 while diesel per litre is now Ksh227.76 and Ksh219.87 for kerosene in the capital.

Transport sector operators, among them matatu, taxis, boda boda riders and ride-hailing drivers have condemned the increase while businesses have also complained over what they term as an additional cost of operations.

Already, a number of matatu operators have increased fare in different routes following the rise in fuel prices in a bid to cushion their businesses.