Somalia’s tuktuk drivers stall as fuel crisis deepens across Africa

A fuel shortage and a surge in petrol prices in Mogadishu are forcing tuktuk drivers in Somalia’s capital to park their vehicles and abandon the work that has long sustained thousands of families.

Every morning, driver Ahmed Abukar Ahmed leaves his home in the Hodan district after saying goodbye to his young son. But in recent months, the familiar routine has given way to anxiety. By the time Ahmed reaches the garage where he rents his tuktuk, he is unsure whether he can afford to drive at all.

He says the price of a litre of fuel has more than doubled, wiping out the small profit he once earned after paying rental fees to the vehicle’s owner. “In the past a litre of fuel cost $0.65, but now it is $1.40. We hire the tuktuks we drive… After paying those costs, the tuktuk does not generate $30–$40 per day, so the situation is bad,” he told Reuters.

At a petrol station on the outskirts of Mogadishu, Ahmed now buys fuel by the bottle—just enough to keep the vehicle running for a short stretch—because he can no longer afford to fill the tank.

Once on the road, the streets offer little relief. Drivers report a sharp drop in demand as residents walk long distances rather than pay higher fares. By midday, long rows of yellow three‑wheelers sit parked under the sun, engines silent.

“There are no passengers… We raised fares because fuel prices went up… We have inevitably parked the tuktuks, another driver, Hassan Sulaeman said.

For low‑income families who depend on daily earnings from the city’s tuktuk fleet, the downturn is immediate and painful. Drivers say they are waiting for prices to stabilise or for assistance from authorities, but many doubt relief will come soon.

-Production: Abdirahman Hussein/Reuters