Police suspend nationwide crackdown on Public Service Vehicles

Public Service Vehicles at the Green Park Terminus in Nairobi [Wilberforce Okwiri, Standard]

The National Police Service (NPS) has suspended a nationwide crackdown on non-compliant Public Service Vehicles (PSV) to allow for dialogue among various stakeholders.

The crackdown began in February with officers from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) weeding out traffic violators in a bid to contain the rise in road accidents. 

“The Rapid Result Initiative (RRI) on road traffic enforcement operation is set to target all forms of non-compliance to the Traffic Act and relevant regulations,” Government Spokesperson Cyrus Oguna said at the time.

But almost a month into the crackdown, the Federation of Matatu operators warned of a strike from today, March 16, if the government failed to stop unwarranted compliance checks.

The group complained that its members were forced to part with an amount of between Sh5,000 and Sh20,000 during the operation. 

In protest, the federation called on its members to withdraw their vehicles from the roads. 

However, according to a statement by NPS on Wednesday, various transport stakeholders including Deputy Inspector General Edward Mbugua, and NTSA Director-General George Njau met and consented to suspend the strike.

The multi-agency also agreed to have the federation of public transport represented in future operations.