Pushback mounts against NTSA's instant fines

David Njoroge on Spice FM. [Screengrab]

The National Transport Safety Authority's (NTSA) new instant traffic fines have continued to draw resistance from industry stakeholders three days after the national rollout.

The Road Safety Association of Kenya is the latest to fault what it termed as a rushed implementation that risks derailing the project, particularly after a false start and years of delays since the supporting legal framework was enacted a decade ago.

The association's chairman, David Njoroge, said the Instant Fines Traffic Management System, as currently structured, appears designed to generate government revenue rather than genuinely improve road safety or ease the judiciary's mounting case backlog.

"This thing has been implemented without considering all the issues raised during engagements with stakeholders. It would have worked, but it was rushed due to business interests. It is no longer about safety, otherwise a public participation exercise would have happened," Njoroge told Spice FM on Thursday morning.

He accused NTSA of jumping the gun on ongoing stakeholder discussions before the terms of implementation had been fully agreed upon.

The authority, he said, acted on a presidential directive to launch the programme despite the absence of public participation, insufficient camera installations, incomplete tendering for the required infrastructure, and no guarantees the new system would be free of corruption.

The directive came after President William Ruto, speaking at a State House meeting last week attended by Chief Justice Martha Koome, expressed frustration at the slow pace of implementing the fines in the face of rising road fatalities.

"Can we first train road users, like drivers, and test how things would look without human law enforcers, just like in Rwanda? The moment the president interfered, everything went wrong," Njoroge said.

He also questioned the financial arrangements underpinning the system.

 "Who owns the KCB payment account? Why is the money not going to the judiciary?" he asked.

In its rollout announcement, NTSA confirmed that all payments would be channelled through a collection account at Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), with offenders required to settle fines within a week or face additional interest charges.

Among the issues road safety advocates want resolved before full implementation are an initial pilot phase, greater transparency on the parties involved in the Sh42 billion public-private partnership (PPP) arrangement, and clear protections for vehicle owners when an offence is committed by someone else driving their car.

Concerns have also been raised about whether existing roadside cameras are capable of accurately capturing offences such as speeding and lane indiscipline, which may require more sophisticated, purpose-built equipment.

The association further warned that the new system may not eradicate corruption, noting that police officers will still be needed for checks requiring human intervention.

It called for the introduction of body cameras to enable real-time monitoring of police interactions with the public.

NTSA, working in consultation with the judiciary, is charging offenders between Sh500 and Sh10,000 for various infractions including obstruction, poorly displayed registration plates, and driving without a valid licence or inspection certificate.

At least two court cases have been filed by Kenyans seeking to block the fines.

On Thursday, Milimani High Court issued conservatory orders suspending the programme in a petition filed by Sheria Mtaani and lawyer Shadrack Wambui.

The case is scheduled for mention on April 4.