Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro has gone on the offensive against President William Ruto’s administration, rejecting a proposal to introduce toll fees on Kenya’s busiest highways and branding it a direct double tax on struggling motorists.
Speaking from his Nairobi office on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, the outspoken legislator said that roads like the Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit and Nairobi–Mombasa corridors are national lifelines and, therefore, should be expanded through government funding rather than public-private deals that force Kenyans to pay again at the toll booth.
He argued that Kenyans are already squeezed by multiple taxes, including VAT, PAYE, and the fuel levy, the last of which is specifically set aside for road maintenance, yet the same motorists are now being asked to dig deeper into their pockets.
Moreover, Nyoro warned that tolling would push up the cost of doing business, choke economic efficiency, and slow down growth, all while making essential routes unaffordable for ordinary citizens.
In addition, he tore into suggestions that the government could tap into workers’ savings from the National Social Security Fund to bankroll such projects, insisting that infrastructure is a core government duty that should be funded from existing internal resources, not retirement accounts.
Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro during a past event. Photo: Ndindi Nyoro Source: Facebook
According to Nyoro, the policy is more than just a road plan — it is a test of the government’s respect for taxpayers, and he vowed to resist any move that burdens Kenyans with extra costs for using public highways.
His fiery remarks came as the Kenya National Highways Authority pushed forward with public participation forums on its draft Road Tolling Policy, which seeks to charge motorists on several major routes, including the Thika Superhighway, Southern Bypass, and Dongo Kundu Bypass.
However, Nyoro’s stance has amplified the voices of critics who say toll roads must have free alternatives and affordable rates if ever implemented, adding fresh political pressure on the Ruto administration to reconsider the plan.
