Story perspectives

Traders Protest KRA’s Sh3.2m Customs Benchmark in Nairobi

8/28/2026

Summary

Traders Protest

Small-scale traders marched in Nairobi’s CBD to protest KRA’s tax hike on August 28, 2026.
KRA raised the customs benchmark to Sh3.2 million, a Sh700,000 (28 %) increase effective August 20, 2026.
Police used tear gas and posted officers at the Archives, Luthuli Avenue and Railways Roundabout.
Traders threatened a nationwide shutdown and will deliver a memorandum to the KRA commissioner.
KRA said the Sh3.2 million benchmark is a risk-management tool, not a flat tax.

Summary

Ruto Defends Protest

President William Ruto defended peaceful protest rights, citing Article 37 of the Constitution, at the Katiba Day Symposium.
Matatu Owners Association reported a 40% revenue loss, about KSh375 million, during June 2025 demonstrations.
Nairobi’s daily economic activity was estimated at KSh10.4 billion during the July 2025 Saba Saba shutdown.
Traders from Kamukunji, Gikomba and Nyamakima markets joined the protest, stressing reliance on consolidated cargo shipments.

History

Historical Context

Kenya’s 1992 adoption of IMF-mandated structural adjustment—raising customs duties and cutting subsidies—mirrored the broader 1980s debt-crisis drive that forced over 70 developing nations into austerity. The reforms sparked Nairobi traders’ protests and added about KSh1.2 billion to the 1992-93 budget. Today, similar tax hikes and matatu losses revive those long-standing fiscal tensions.

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Traders Protest

Small-scale traders marched in Nairobi’s CBD to protest KRA’s tax hike on August 28, 2026.
KRA raised the customs benchmark to Sh3.2 million, a Sh700,000 (28 %) increase effective August 20, 2026.
Police used tear gas and posted officers at the Archives, Luthuli Avenue and Railways Roundabout.
Traders threatened a nationwide shutdown and will deliver a memorandum to the KRA commissioner.
KRA said the Sh3.2 million benchmark is a risk-management tool, not a flat tax.

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