The Motorists Association of Kenya (MAK) is demanding a legally binding agreement guaranteeing that savings from the newly launched Sh2.2 trillion Dangote East Africa Petroleum Refinery in Lamu will be passed on to drivers through lower pump prices.

In a statement issued Friday, MAK said the government must explain precisely how the refinery will benefit ordinary motorists, rather than simply presenting it as a national achievement. The association cited constitutional provisions on transparency, access to information and public participation in demanding full disclosure of the deal's terms, and said its members would remain opposed to the arrangement until their concerns are addressed.

MAK pointed to Kenya's existing Turkana oil project as a cautionary precedent, arguing that motorists never benefited from crude extracted there despite contributing to road development nationally through the Road Maintenance Levy. The association also renewed longstanding criticism of recent fuel tax changes, including the removal of a Sh5-per-litre fuel subsidy, an increase in VAT on fuel from 8 to 16 percent, and a Sh7 increase in the Road Maintenance Levy.

On the government's existing Government-to-Government (G-to-G) fuel supply arrangement, MAK said motorists were promised six months of price stability but instead faced rising prices. "Motorists were promised a six-month price stabilisation guarantee," the association said, without specifying what it says has instead occurred, though its broader public statements have repeatedly linked the G-to-G deal to inconsistent pricing.

The demand follows President William Ruto's recent warning that he would not tolerate what he described as attempts by some Kenyans to "extort" or undermine Aliko Dangote over the Lamu investment, remarks Ruto made in response to separate political accusations of extortion levelled at opposition figures.

Friday's demand is the latest in a series of escalating grievances MAK has raised over Kenya's fuel pricing system throughout 2026. The association has previously called for a forensic audit of the G-to-G fuel deal, criticised a "paltry" Sh0.22 petrol price cut as insulting, demanded the National Oil Corporation of Kenya be made the sole handler of G-to-G deals to curb alleged middlemen exploitation, and pushed for EPRA's monthly pricing formula to be replaced with the older Energy Regulatory Commission model. MAK has said its demands are aimed at accountability and transparency, not subsidies: "We are demanding accountability, transparency and a fair fuel price."