Ndindi Nyoro opposes tolling on major Kenyan highways
Kiharu Member of Parliament Ndindi Nyoro has urged the government to expand key highways without introducing toll charges, saying such fees amount to double taxation for Kenyan road users.
Speaking at his Nairobi office on Tuesday, August 12, 2025, Nyoro said that strategic road corridors such as the Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit and Nairobi–Mombasa highways should be upgraded through direct government funding rather than public-private partnerships that require motorists to pay tolls.
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According to the legislator, road users already shoulder significant taxation, including Value Added Tax (VAT), Pay As You Earn (PAYE), and the fuel levy, the latter specifically earmarked for road maintenance.
“The expansion of major roads in Kenya is long overdue. This, however, should be done most optimally. The expansion of Rironi – Mau Summit Rd (Nairobi – Nakuru – Mau Summit) should be done as a GoK-funded project and without tolling or requiring users to pay. The same should happen to – Nairobi-Mombasa Highway,” he said.
Introducing toll fees, he argued, would be an unnecessary additional cost that undermines the ease of doing business and increases operational inefficiencies in the economy.
Nyoro further criticised proposals to utilise workers’ savings from the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) for such infrastructure projects, insisting that road expansion should remain a core responsibility of the government, funded through optimal use of existing internal resources. He emphasised that major roads are vital economic arteries and should be accessible to all without extra financial barriers.
Nyoro argued that Kenyans already bear multiple taxes and levies, including VAT, PAYE, and the fuel levy, which is meant to fund road maintenance.
“It is not prudent to have a Kenyan who pays VAT, PAYE and other taxes, again pays Fuel Levy to maintain roads, and then is made to pay toll to use a corridor highway that serves a huge section of our country. Tolling of major roads makes an economy inefficient and dampens the ease of doing business. We must optimise our internal resources to fund key projects instead of misusing workers’ savings at NSSF to do what the government should do and has always done,” he said.
Tolling
Nyoro’s remarks come as the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) advances its proposed Road Tolling Policy. The draft plan seeks to introduce toll fees on several major highways, including the Nairobi–Nakuru–Mau Summit Highway, Thika Superhighway, Southern Bypass, Kenol–Sagana–Marua Road, Mombasa Southern Bypass, and Dongo Kundu Bypass.
KeNHA said the policy will help repay loans for existing highways and free up the Road Maintenance Levy Fund for new road projects. Public participation forums on the proposal began in early 2025 and have drawn both support and criticism. Some stakeholders have demanded that toll roads have alternative free routes and that the toll fees remain affordable.
