Nairobi police commander Issa Mohamud said six police officers were injured in the clashes, and five police vehicles and one civilian vehicle were damaged.
Ahead of the strike, the police assured Kenyans that security measures would be in place and warned against any disruptive conduct.
Speaking to reporters on Monday evening, Murkomen said it was “unfortunate that today’s protests have once again been hijacked by political actors for political ends”.
“Looting businesses and vandalising public property can in no way bring down oil prices,” Kenya’s news website, Kenyans, cited him as saying. “Disrupting transport and destroying livelihoods will only worsen the situation facing Kenyans.”
Murkomen added that most of the roads had been cleared.
The association representing transport operators had earlier urged all vehicle users, including private motorists, public transport buses (locally known as matatus) and truckers, to stay off the roads as part of a coordinated shutdown.
“This action is not only for transport operators, but for every Kenyan citizen,” the Transport Sector Alliance (TSA) said in a statement.
The alliance has accused the government of not doing enough to shield Kenyans from the rising fuel prices, amid a broader high cost-of-living crisis.
It has called for the reversal of the price increases announced last week, and for fuel prices to be reduced by about 35%.
The Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (Epra) on Thursday raised prices to a high of 242 shillings ($1.8; ÂŁ1.4) a litre for diesel and petrol to $1.65.
