A Kenyan citizen has taken the fight against soaring fuel prices to the High Court, filing an urgent petition seeking to suspend the latest pump price increases announced by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA).
Francis Awino, the petitioner behind the lawsuit, filed the case before the Constitutional and Human Rights Division, naming EPRA as the primary respondent. He also pulled in a broad set of co-respondents: the Attorney General, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the National Standards Council, and the Cabinet Secretaries for the National Treasury and Economic Planning, Energy and Petroleum, and Investments, Trade, and Industry.
Awino wants the court to move fast. He is specifically asking a judge to suspend the maximum retail petroleum prices that EPRA set for the period running from May 15 to June 14, 2026.
What Sparked the Lawsuit
The petition zeroes in on EPRA’s latest monthly price review, which raised Super Petrol by Ksh 16.65 per litre and Diesel by a steep Ksh 46.29 per litre, while leaving Kerosene unchanged. Motorists in Nairobi now pay Ksh 214.25 for Super Petrol and Ksh 242.92 for Diesel, with Kerosene holding at Ksh 152.78 for the next 30 days.
Awino argues that these prices will set off a damaging chain reaction across the economy: pushing up transport costs, inflating food prices, and driving up the cost of essential commodities at a time when many Kenyan households are already struggling.
Beyond the economic impact, he takes direct aim at how EPRA arrived at these figures, arguing the process was fundamentally flawed.
“The impugned decision is opaque, unreasonable, and procedurally unfair,” Awino states in the court papers, arguing further that the decision violates Article 47 of the Constitution on fair administrative action.
He also contends that the hikes directly threaten the socio-economic rights guaranteed under Articles 43 and 46 of the Constitution, undermining consumer protections and blocking access to basic needs.
A Demand for Transparency
A central pillar of the petition is the demand for full transparency in how the government calculates fuel prices. Awino wants the court to compel EPRA and the National Treasury to publicly disclose the complete pricing formula used for the May–June review cycle, including landed fuel costs, applicable taxes and levies, exchange rate assumptions, oil marketer profit margins, and the exact criteria that determined the final pump prices.
The petition also turns a spotlight on the Petroleum Development Levy Fund (PDLF), from which the government reportedly used approximately Ksh 5 billion to cushion consumers against rising global oil prices. Awino argues that authorities deployed these public funds without adequate disclosure and accountability and wants the court to freeze any further spending from the fund until the government provides a full breakdown of how it uses, allocates, and oversees the money.
Sulfur Waiver in the Crosshairs
The petition extends beyond pricing to take on a separate but related concern: a temporary waiver of sulfur fuel standards that the government announced on April 30, 2026.
Awino argues that relaxing these standards exposes Kenyans to serious environmental pollution and public health risks. He wants the court to either suspend the waiver outright or order the Ministry of Investments, Trade and Industry, KEBS, and the National Standards Council to hand over all technical reports, scientific assessments, public participation records, and environmental safeguards that supposedly underpin the decision.
Rounding out the petition, Awino wants the court to direct the Ministry of Energy and relevant state agencies to come clean on how they are implementing the National Energy Security and Resilience Plan, reportedly approved by the National Security Council Committee. He argues that Kenyans have a fundamental right to understand the government’s long-term strategy for managing fuel supply, price volatility, and national energy security.
The petition makes the case for exceptional urgency, warning that if the court does not step in immediately, the combination of record fuel prices and mounting public frustration could tip over into nationwide protests that threaten both economic stability and public order. With demonstrations already being threatened and household budgets under severe strain, Awino’s legal challenge puts the judiciary at the centre of one of Kenya’s most pressing economic flash points.
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