Ndindi Nyoro to Ruto: You Should Not Have Left Kenya During Fuel Protests

Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro has called out President William Ruto’s trip to Azerbaijan, arguing that the president should not have left the country while widespread fuel protests rock the nation.

Nyoro, who has fronted several proposals to slash pump prices, stated that the administration missed the mark on timing and should have stayed on the ground to de-escalate tensions and engage directly with struggling Kenyans.

“If I were in the shoes of the Head of State, I would not have travelled to Azerbaijan. Sometimes when you are in power, you may take a lot for granted, and I think the government is taking a lot for granted. It is the wrong time for that trip to Azerbaijan. We have much more pressing issues in the country,” he said in an interview on NTV.

“In the position of government, what I would have done is actually address the nation, maybe around the seventh of the month, because when you are in that position, you are not like me or any other Kenyan. You have information, you can estimate the rising cost, and you can estimate what will be announced on the 14th. So they should have come out, faced the Kenyan people, given the figures early, and then conceded where necessary.”

Nyoro also took aim at the frequent television appearances by state officials, arguing that leaders in power need to focus on delivering concrete results rather than recycling promises. He suggested that the administration’s current communication strategy relies too heavily on media rounds rather than actual governance.

“The people we see, especially in government, addressing Kenyans on so many TV stations, I would politely tell them, because we have been there. When you are in government, you cease to have the privilege of promising. You now have to do the job. So even if you go to 20 TV stations, the bottom line is usually, then what?” he posed.

Nyoro argued that the country has failed to learn crucial lessons from its recent economic and political history, pointing out that citizens have become far more critical and demanding of state accountability.

“I find it totally unacceptable that even when 2024 is less than two years ago in terms of the actual months, it seems we have learned no lesson. I call upon the government now; the proposals we are making are reasonable, and we have gone through them here. Nothing is outrageous,” he said.

To lower prices at the pump, Nyoro outlined a specific legislative rescue package. His plan includes scrapping the Value Added Tax (VAT) on petroleum products, cutting oil marketers’ profit margins by Sh4, and rolling back the Road Maintenance Levy to its previous rate of Sh18 per litre.

Nyoro called on state officials to ditch their heavy media schedules, shift their focus to direct public engagement, and prioritize tangible results over polished communication. In his view, genuine leadership hinges on decisive action rather than endless explanations.

“Everyone in government should now stop going to TV stations. Go to TV stations only to announce actual reductions in the crisis. Because after all is said and done, you cannot continue to promise when you are in government. Kenyans will not take that,” he said.

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