Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi has assured Kenyans that President Ruto's order for a Ksh 10 diesel price reduction will be honoured in the upcoming EPRA fuel price review — and has warned transport operators to pass the savings on to passengers.
CS Wandayi Confirms Ksh 10 Diesel Price Cut Coming in June–July EPRA Review
Kenyan motorists, transport operators and consumers who depend on diesel-powered vehicles and machinery are set to receive a measure of financial relief in the coming days, with Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi officially confirming that the government will implement a Ksh 10 reduction in diesel prices during the upcoming June–July fuel price review by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA). The announcement brings to a close weeks of public speculation about whether the presidential directive would translate into actual pump price relief — and delivers a clear answer: it will.
Speaking to the press on Friday, June 5, 2026, CS Wandayi was unequivocal about the ministry's intentions and its chain of command. Framing the diesel price reduction as a direct implementation of instructions from President William Ruto, the CS made clear that the Energy Ministry operates strictly within the framework of presidential directives and that the June–July review will reflect exactly what the Head of State ordered. "I, as the Energy minister who works under the instructions of the president, my work is to adhere to the instructions of the president. We will fulfil the reduction of diesel prices as directed by the president," Wandayi stated, leaving no room for ambiguity about the government's commitment to the price adjustment.
How the Ksh 10 Diesel Price Cut Came About: President Ruto's Mombasa Directive
The upcoming diesel price reduction traces its origins to a high-level meeting between President William Ruto and transport sector stakeholders held in Mombasa, following which the Head of State publicly directed EPRA to implement a Ksh 10 reduction in diesel prices in the June–July pricing cycle. Ruto made the announcement on May 22, 2026, positioning the directive as a deliberate policy intervention aimed at stabilising pump prices and providing tangible cushioning to consumers and transport operators who have been bearing the brunt of elevated fuel costs.
The timing of the presidential directive was significant. It came against the backdrop of sustained public pressure from transport operators, matatu owners, truck drivers and ordinary Kenyans who have been struggling with the cumulative economic impact of high fuel prices — pressure that had been amplified by the fuel-related protests that erupted in various parts of the country in the weeks prior. By personally directing a price reduction and tying it to a specific upcoming review cycle, President Ruto sought to demonstrate responsive leadership on an issue that cuts directly to the cost of living for millions of households across Kenya.
With CS Wandayi's Friday confirmation that the directive will be honoured in full, the mechanism that will deliver the price cut is now firmly in motion, with the June 14, 2026 EPRA pricing announcement expected to formalise the new pump prices across the country.
New Nairobi Diesel Price After the Cut: What Motorists Will Pay at the Pump
For motorists and fleet operators in Nairobi and across Kenya who rely on diesel — which powers the vast majority of the country's commercial vehicles, public service vehicles, heavy trucks, generators and agricultural machinery — the practical impact of the Ksh 10 reduction is straightforward and immediately meaningful. Upon full implementation of the presidential directive, diesel in Nairobi will retail at Ksh 222.86 per litre, down from its current level by exactly Ksh 10.
While a Ksh 10 reduction may appear modest in isolation, its cumulative effect across high-volume diesel consumers is considerable. For a long-haul truck driver filling a 400-litre tank, the reduction translates to a saving of Ksh 4,000 per fill. For a matatu operator running multiple trips daily across a week, the savings compound into a meaningful reduction in operating costs. And for the broader logistics and supply chain sector, which touches virtually every aspect of Kenya's economy from food distribution to manufacturing inputs, a reduction in diesel costs has ripple effects that extend well beyond the fuel pump itself.
The June 14, 2026 EPRA announcement will also confirm the new prices for super petrol and kerosene — two equally critical fuel products whose pricing has not yet been disclosed under the current review cycle but whose adjustments will be eagerly anticipated by consumers across the income spectrum.
CS Wandayi's Warning to Matatus and Transport Operators: Lower Fares Must Follow Lower Fuel Costs
Beyond confirming the diesel price reduction, CS Wandayi used his Friday press address to deliver a pointed and direct message to Kenya's transport operators — a message that many Kenyans have been waiting for someone in government to say clearly and loudly for a very long time. The CS called out what he described as a longstanding and deeply unfair pattern in the transport sector, where operators are quick to raise passenger fares whenever fuel prices increase but consistently fail to pass savings on to commuters when fuel prices come down.
"It should not be that when fuel prices go up, they hike fares but when fuel prices go down, the fares remain the same," Wandayi stated bluntly, framing the issue as a matter of basic fairness and consumer protection that the government expects the transport industry to address in conjunction with the upcoming price reduction. His remarks were directed at matatu operators, bus companies, and all other public service vehicle operators whose fare structures directly affect the daily cost of commuting for millions of Kenyan workers, students and residents.
The CS's intervention on the fare question is particularly significant because it establishes a clear government expectation — and arguably a degree of political accountability — around the pass-through of fuel cost savings to end consumers. Whether transport operators will voluntarily comply with this expectation, or whether the government will need to take more formal regulatory action to enforce fare reductions, remains to be seen. But the message from the Cabinet Secretary is unambiguous: the diesel price cut should benefit passengers, not just operators' profit margins.
What Kenyans Should Expect on June 14: The Full EPRA Fuel Price Announcement
All eyes in Kenya's energy, transport, and consumer sectors are now firmly fixed on June 14, 2026, when EPRA is scheduled to release the official new fuel prices for the June–July pricing cycle. The Ksh 10 diesel reduction confirmed by CS Wandayi will be formalised in that announcement, alongside the new prices for super petrol and kerosene — figures that have not yet been publicly disclosed but that will be equally consequential for household budgets and business operating costs across the country.
For ordinary Kenyans, the June 14 announcement represents one of the most closely watched fuel pricing decisions in recent memory — not because the diesel reduction itself is transformative, but because of what it signals: a government that is at least partially responsive to public pressure on the cost of living, and a regulatory framework that, when directed from the top, can deliver pump price relief within a defined and predictable timeframe.
Whether that relief will be meaningfully felt by commuters in lower matatu fares, by households in reduced goods transportation costs, and by small businesses in lower logistics expenses will ultimately depend on how effectively CS Wandayi's warning to transport operators translates into real-world fare adjustments. The government has issued the directive. The regulator will publish the prices. The question that remains is whether the benefits will flow all the way down to the Kenyans who need them most.