Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni has downplayed concerns over high fuel prices for motorists, saying those who cannot afford it should stay at home and that he is not concerned about people travelling for leisure, including to nightclubs.
Speaking during the Africa We Build Summit 2026, Museveni said his main concern in recent engagements with President William Ruto was not the rising cost of fuel for vehicles, but the price of aviation fuel.
He explained that jet fuel plays a critical role beyond air travel, noting its importance in tourism and exports, warning that high costs could discourage visitors and affect trade.
Museveni urged a focus on lowering jet fuel prices to support key sectors of the economy, dismissing the impact of high pump prices on motorists.
“I would not have bothered President Ruto so much for fuel, especially people who are driving on the road. If the fuel is expensive, stay at home, where are you going,” he said.
“I’m not worried about you. What I was worried about is jet fuel, because jet fuel is not only for travel, it is also for tourism. If the cost of jet fuel is high, tourists will not come. It is also for export because aircraft are used for export. People who are going to nightclubs and other things, I don’t care so much about them. If you don’t have the money, stay at home. Where are you going?”
The Ugandan leader added that he had urged Kenya and Uganda to maintain a common position on fuel pipeline management, particularly to stabilise jet fuel supply and pricing.
“That is why I engaged President Ruto, so that the governments of Kenya and Uganda can have a common voice on the pipeline, mainly because of jet fuel,” he said.
His remarks come at a time when East African countries are grappling with the rising cost of living, driven in part by high fuel prices.
However, he maintained that prioritising affordable jet fuel is essential to sustaining tourism flows and export competitiveness in the region.
Fuel consumers across the Eastern Africa region are navigating a starkly diverse pricing landscape, with Kenya emerging as the most expensive market for both petrol and diesel.
According to the latest market data, Kenyan motorists pay 206.97 Shillings per litre for petrol and 206.84 Shillings for diesel, positioning the country at the peak of the regional cost index. This narrow margin between petrol and diesel prices is unique to Kenya compared to its neighbours.
Rwanda follows closely as the second-costliest destination, where petrol retails at 203.17 Shillings and diesel at 194.52 Shillings.
Tanzania and Uganda offer more moderate pricing structures, with Tanzania maintaining petrol at 189.81 Shillings and diesel at 189.11 Shillings.
In Uganda, while petrol is priced at 184.55 Shillings, diesel is notably more affordable at 174.10 Shillings, reflecting a larger price gap between the two fuel types.
The most significant outlier in the region is Ethiopia, where fuel prices are nearly half of those found in Kenya. Ethiopian consumers pay only 109.36 Shillings for petrol and 115.70 Shillings for diesel.
This makes Ethiopia the only country in the survey where diesel is more expensive than petrol, contrasting sharply with the price hierarchies seen in Rwanda and Uganda.
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