Four killed in protests over Kenya fuel price hikes as strike strands commuters

NAIROBI, May 18 - Four people were killed in protests against fuel price hikes prompted by the Iran war in several Kenyan towns on Monday, its interior minister said, after a nationwide public transport strike stranded commuters.

The Transport Sector Alliance said on Sunday that vehicles affiliated with its member associations would stop operating from midnight in protest, while police said they would act to tackle any disruptions.

"We lost four Kenyans in today's violence, which also saw more than 30 people injured," Interior Minister Kipchumba Murkomen told a televised press conference.

Kenya's Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority last week raised retail fuel prices by as much as 23.5% - after hiking them by 24.2% last month - as the conflict in the Middle East squeezed global oil and gas supplies.

Earlier on Monday Finance Minister John Mbadi had said the current prices were already subsidised.

A meeting of the transport and energy ministers with public transport operators late on Monday to discuss a solution yielded little breakthrough, with the association accepting a proposal from the government that it would bridge the disparity between diesel and kerosene prices to prevent adulteration.

However they disagreed on the extent to which the prices could reduce, with the associations asking for 46 shillings per litre.

"We have not agreed on anything... What we are urging the president is that he must do something because the strike will continue. The strike is still on," Albert Karakacha, chairman of the public service vehicles owners' association, told a news conference.

On Monday morning, roads into the capital Nairobi were blocked by striking transport operators and scattered groups of protesters.

Police fired tear gas in some areas while some protesters lit tyres to cut access to key roads, worsening congestion and leaving many commuters stranded.

In Mombasa, Kenya's main port city, the strike raised fears of supply-chain delays.

Kenya imports nearly all its fuel products from the Middle East via government-to-government deals with Gulf suppliers. The fuel price hike has sharply raised transport fares and pushed up the cost of basic goods, deepening pressure on households already struggling with the high cost of living.

Public relations worker Gabriel Odhiambo, 24, said his transport costs had doubled and that food prices had also risen. Four tomatoes now cost 60 shillings (50 U.S. cents) - a threefold increase.

Kenya raised the pump price of super petrol in Nairobi to 214.25 Kenyan shillings ($1.66) a litre from 206.97, and diesel to 242.92 shillings from 196.63 for the May 15-June 14 cycle, while kerosene was unchanged at 152.78 shillings. REUTERS