Oburu calls for tax relief amid rising fuel prices, pledges talks with Mbadi and Ruto

Speaking in Kisumu on Sunday during a meeting that brought together ODM grassroots leaders from across the Nyanza region, Oburu attributed the global spike in fuel costs to geopolitical tensions, pointing to the United States' recent actions against Venezuela and the escalating conflict involving Iran as key triggers of the price surge.

"Things are not okay; you can see fuel prices are high all over. It started when Trump moved against Venezuela, and then there was the attack on Iran. These are the reasons prices have hiked across the world," Oburu told the gathering.

The ODM Party Leader, however, sought to reassure party members that the hardship would not be permanent. He revealed that he would be engaging both National Treasury Cabinet Secretary John Mbadi, who was present at the meeting, and President William Ruto, to explore the possibility of reducing taxes on fuel in order to ease the burden on ordinary Kenyans.

"This will not last. I am speaking to Mbadi here and to Ruto to see how things can be normalized and some taxes removed," he said.

His statement comes at a time when the transport sector is planning for demonstrations on Monday due to the hiked fuel prices, which they say will prompt them to hike transport fares by 50%.