John Mbadi, the Cabinet Secretary for the National Treasury and Economic Planning, has dismissed Ndindi Nyoro’s claim concerning the rise of fuel prices. Kiharu MP had commented that the government should not use the global situation as an excuse for the hike.
On Monday, 14th July 2025, Fuel prices shot up: petrol by Ksh 9, diesel by Ksh 8, and kerosene by Ksh 9. The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) cited an increase in the landed cost of fuel. These changes are expected to remain in effect through mid-August.
Treasury cabinet secretary John Mbadi has affirmed that the cost of landing petroleum has indeed gone up. Mbadi has strongly defended the government over Monday’s spike in fuel prices, dismissing the claims made by Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro as misinformed. He also insisted that the increase was caused by the ongoing Israel-Iran war, causing a rise in global oil prices.
“We saw the prices of fuel going up drastically yesterday, and the explanation that was given by the government was not accurate. Because blaming the global oil prices is falling short of what the reality is,” said Nyoro.
Mbadi, in turn, fired back, saying, “When you start misreporting and giving statements that are not factual, and you’ve been chair of the Budget and Appropriations Committee, then you leave Kenyans asking whether you have what it takes to offer leadership at any level.”
“You cannot say that petroleum prices have gone up because the government has diverted stabilisation funds to pay or take secret loans. What is secret about securitisation?”
While Nyoro did not directly tie the price hike to the securitisation, he claimed that domestic fuel prices no longer reflect global trends.
He attributed this to what he described as secretive government borrowing, questioning the rationale behind securitising a portion of the road maintenance levy.
“In a non-oil producing country like Kenya, the only tool the government is left with is altering the levies and taxes,” said Nyoro.
“The government added a new levy last year in the fuel prices, and how the government works, you time it when the fuel prices are coming down. That’s why Kenyans never felt the global deceleration of prices, because it’s around that time that the government introduced a secret Ksh 7 in the fuel levy.”
The government has remained fixed that the securitisation of certain funds is the only viable way to provide short-term fiscal relief to the country.
But not everyone agrees. Some have argued that this is a classic case of mortgaging the country’s future potential. Kenyans can only wait and see the true cost of the government’s decision to once again kick the can down the road.
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