By Benadeta Mwaura - Reporter
Kenya, August 24, 2026 - Kenya’s small traders are escalating their campaign against rising taxes and import costs, with traders mobilising for a nationwide business shutdown and demonstrations on August 28 under the banner “Businesses Under Siege.”
The planned action follows a growing dispute over the cost of importing goods, including the increase in the customs benchmark for general consolidated cargo from KSh2.5 million to KSh3.2 million, a 28% increase.
The additional KSh700,000 has become a major flashpoint for small importers who rely on consolidated cargo to bring in merchandise in shared containers rather than importing entire containers on their own.
Traders argue that the higher benchmark will put further pressure on already thin margins and tie up more working capital at a time when many small businesses are struggling with the cost of operating.
The MSME Alliance of Kenya has described the increase as too significant for small and medium-sized traders, warning that it could raise import costs, squeeze profit margins and push some businesses towards closure.
But the dispute is no longer confined to the port.
Small traders have already begun withholding cargo clearance in protest against higher taxes, levies and administrative charges, according to reports from the business community. They have warned that if the concerns are not addressed, they could escalate the action into a nationwide business strike.
The August 28 shutdown would take that campaign beyond the import and clearing sector and into shops, markets and small businesses across the country.
What started as a disagreement over customs valuation is increasingly becoming a broader confrontation over the cost of doing business.
The traders say they are not opposed to paying taxes. Their complaint is that the cumulative effect of taxes, levies, regulatory charges and other business costs is making it increasingly difficult for small enterprises to remain profitable.
The messages accompanying the #TradersFightBack and Businesses Under Siege campaign on X have focused on predictable business costs, fair taxation and the survival of small enterprises.
One trader, posting under the campaign, said the sector was demanding “transparent, predictable costs of doing business”, arguing that constant policy changes make planning difficult.
Another message urged traders to use their collective strength to push for what they described as a fairer trading environment.
The campaign is therefore attempting to turn individual complaints from different markets into a coordinated national movement.
The customs benchmark has been at the centre of the confrontation.
KRA had initially proposed significantly higher benchmarks for some categories of consolidated cargo, with figures ranging between KSh3.5 million and KSh10 million depending on the category.
Following negotiations with industry representatives, including the Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association, those higher figures were suspended.
The existing KSh2.5 million benchmark was retained until August 20, with the revised KSh3.2 million benchmark taking effect from August 21. The agreement also provided for the new benchmark to remain in place for two years, while traders could request individual verification and valuation where they believed their cargo warranted a lower assessment.
For the traders now protesting, however, the compromise did not go far enough.
They want the KSh2.5 million benchmark retained and further consultation before any future increases.
For a large importer, an increase in the customs valuation benchmark can potentially be absorbed across a much larger volume of goods.
For a small trader sharing container space with dozens of other importers, the calculation is different.
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The trader may be importing a relatively small quantity of shoes, household goods, electrical accessories, motorcycle parts or other merchandise, with the cost of bringing those goods into Kenya forming a significant portion of the eventual selling price.
An increase in import-related costs can therefore leave the trader with an uncomfortable choice: raise prices and risk losing customers, absorb the additional cost and accept lower profits, or reduce imports altogether.
That is the economic pressure behind the traders' campaign.
It would, however, be inaccurate to suggest that the 28% increase automatically translates into a 28 per cent increase in the retail price of every imported product. The KSh3.2 million figure is a customs valuation benchmark rather than a flat tax charged to every trader.
The actual amount payable depends on the goods being imported and their applicable duties and taxes.
The significance of August 28 is therefore bigger than the customs benchmark itself.
If traders in different parts of the country close their businesses simultaneously, the action could demonstrate just how dependent local economies are on small enterprises and informal trade.
Markets and shopping centres could see shops closed, while importers, wholesalers and retailers could temporarily withdraw from normal commercial activity.
The move would also give traders a platform to push demands that extend beyond customs valuation, including lower taxes, more predictable policies and greater consultation before changes affecting small businesses are introduced.
It marks a significant shift in how the sector is responding to government revenue measures.
Rather than individual businesses challenging individual taxes, traders are attempting to coordinate their response across markets and regions and use the combined economic weight of small businesses as leverage.
The planned shutdown also points to the growing ability of Kenya's small-trader networks to coordinate beyond individual markets.
Earlier protests over customs changes brought together importers, clearing agents and business associations. The current campaign is attempting to widen that coalition to ordinary traders who ultimately depend on imported goods to stock their businesses.
The language of the campaign is also deliberately broader.
“Businesses Under Siege” is not limited to customs. It presents taxation, regulation and operating costs as a collective threat to small businesses.
That makes the August 28 action potentially more significant than a conventional traders' protest.
If it attracts substantial participation, it could demonstrate that Kenya's fragmented small-business sector has developed into a coordinated economic constituency capable of shutting down commercial activity to force engagement with government.
For now, however, the traders' demand remains straightforward: they want the government and KRA back at the negotiating table.
And with the shutdown date set for August 28, the coming days will determine whether the campaign remains an online mobilisation or develops into one of the country's most significant coordinated small-business protests in recent years.