Kenyans worse off than a year ago as inflation hits two-year high

When Jane Wanjiku, a mother of two and a food vendor in Naivasha’s Karagita slum, went to buy tomatoes for her family this week, a trader asked for Sh15 per fruit. A year ago, she paid less than half that. 

“We are suffering. Everything is expensive now, from food, transport, even cooking gas,” Wanjiku, 42, told The Standard. “My business earnings cannot keep up.” 

New data confirms her pain. Kenya’s annual inflation rate jumped to 5.6 per cent in April from 4.4 per cent in March, the highest level since May 2024, driven by sharp increases in food and fuel costs. 

The statistics tell a grim story of eroding purchasing power. A kilo of tomatoes now costs Sh108.60, up 32.6 per cent from Sh81.88 a year ago, according to the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).

Potatoes have risen 17.4 per cent to Sh110.16 a kilo, while beef with bones has climbed 11.1 per cent to Sh749.65.  

Fuel costs, which ripple through nearly every sector of the economy, have surged dramatically. 

Diesel jumped 19.4 per cent year-on-year to Sh197.81 per litre in April, while petrol rose 13.3 per cent to Sh198.67.

The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority blamed higher global oil landing costs linked to supply disruptions in the Middle East. 

For ordinary Kenyans, the impact is immediate. City bus and matatu fares in Nairobi increased 20 per cent year-on-year, with a peak-hour trip from Karen to the town centre now costing Sh120, according to the government data.  

Boda boda fares in Narok town also rose 20 per cent to Sh120. 

Supply chains disruptions

A 13-kilogramme cooking gas cylinder now costs Sh3,361.56, up 6.5 per cent from a year ago, further squeezing household budgets that have already been stretched thin by years of economic shocks. 

The situation may deteriorate further. The World Bank has warned that the ongoing Middle East conflict could exact a heavy toll on Kenya’s economy, the country being an oil-importing nation that remains highly vulnerable to global supply shocks. 

In an April economic update, the Washington-based lender cut Kenya’s 2026 growth forecast to 4.4 per cent from 4.9 per cent, citing mounting external pressures and structural constraints.  

Kenya also faces potential monthly losses in diaspora remittances from the Gulf, while food prices could spike further due to disruptions in fertiliser supply chains. 

Kenya sources 26 per cent of its fertiliser imports from the Middle East, the World Bank noted, creating a risk of reduced agricultural output and worsening food insecurity in the coming weeks.  

The global lender also estimated that inflation may rise by four percentage points or more, shaving 2.6 per cent from household incomes and pushing many more Kenyans into poverty. 

The Ruto government has taken some measures to ease the burden. It cut Value Added Tax on petroleum products from 16 per cent to 8 per cent and tapped the fuel stabilisation fund, spending Sh6.2 billion this month to limit pump price increases. 

Kenyans say these measures only go so far.  

For families like Wanjiku’s, each week brings new calculations on how to stretch meagre earnings across rising prices for food, fuel and basic household goods. 

“Last year, I could save a little,” she said, while preparing her food stall (kibanda) as customers started streaming in. “Now I just pray nothing else goes up.”