NTSA to know fate on mandatory public service vehicles inspection

When a family of 13 died in a road accident at Kikopey along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway, a man took matters into his own hands and had the 14-seater matatu inspected.

An inspection report tabled in court, which was commissioned by the Road Safety Association of Kenya Chairman David Kiarie, showed that some seats in the ill-fated matatu did not have three-point seatbelts.

It further found that the seats were not mounted on continuous flat/angled iron bars welded to the floor of the vehicle and that it did not have anti-roll bars.

The vehicle also did not bear a conformity plate fixed to a permanent interior side wall as per regulations by the National Safety and Transport Authority (NTSA).

Armed with the report, Kiarie rushed to the Kerugoya High Court, where he sued NTSA, Opere Akomo, the Deputy Director of Motor Vehicle Inspection at NTSA and the matatu owner Harrison Onunga Shikuku.

While the case is still ongoing, NTSA’s own data shows that nearly 4,458 people were killed on Kenyan roads in 2025.

Of these, 1,685 pedestrians, 1,148 motorcyclists and 432 pillion passengers were killed in accidents.

The data further shows that 723 passengers, 403 drivers and 67 pedal cyclists were killed.

From the data, road accident-related deaths increased by 147 from 4,311 recorded in 2023.

In his petition, Kiarie sought orders compelling NTSA and Akomo to carry out mandatory public service vehicle inspections as per their constitutional and statutory mandate to ensure that they conform with the set standards.

Schools reopening

He also wanted Akomo and NTSA to table in court an affidavit or report stating the steps they had taken to comply with the inspection order.

Kiarie argued that the festive period and schools reopening witness high traffic and travel and increase the risk of road accidents.

From the inspection report, Kiarie said that the matatu was unfit to carry passengers and ought not to have been issued with a road service licence.

He said that despite the above concerns that he picked from the inspection report that the vehicle passed NTSA inspection.

Kiarie argued that the action points to an NTSA systemic institutionalised exposure of goods and services of substandard quality.

“I am advised by the petitioner’s advocates on record that the violation of the public’s consumer rights by NTSA and its officials is both through its/their actions of licensing vehicles which do not meet the set standards and by omission in light of its/their failure to ensure only compliant vehicles are in public service transport,” he said in his affidavit.

According to the petitioner, the matatu owner, Shikuku, also violated the right of road users to a good of reasonable quality by exposing them to his vehicle, which did not meet the set standards.

“I am advised by the petitioner’s advocates on record that award of damages in cases of rights violations serves to inter alia vindicate and affirm the importance of the violated rights and influence government behaviour in order to secure state compliance with the rights in the future, thereby promoting good governance,” said Kiarie.

In their reply, NTSA, through Akomo, sought to have the petition dismissed, saying that on January 8, 2019, the authority rolled out standards to be complied by all public service vehicles.

The standards came into effect on July 14, 2023, and applied to all pre-registered passenger vehicles and any new conversions from commercial vehicles to public service vehicles and the vehicle in question was first issued with a Road Service Licence (RSL) on May 31, 2016.

“The standards did not apply to the suit motor vehicle registration as it came into effect on July 14, 2023, after the motor vehicle was already converted and in operation as a public service vehicle.”

According to Okomo, the vehicle was duly inspected at NTSA Nyeri Inspection Centre on October 23, 2024, where it passed the test, having been fitted with a properly functioning speed governor and not having any pre-accident defects.

The vehicle was part of the 2NK Sacco from May 2016 until March 20, 2025, when it joined Alsops Traveller Services Ltd on April 28, 2025.

At the time of the accident on September 28, 2025, the vehicle had not applied for a short-term RSL authorising it to ply the Nairobi-Naivasha route as the Sacco is not licensed to operate as a commuter transport operator.

“That it therefore follows that the suit motor vehicle, owned by the third Respondent, passed the inspection test by craft and mischief by presenting itself as a compliant long-distance operator under 2NK Sacco Society Ltd then subsequently joining Alsops Travellers Services Ltd, a licensed commuter transport operator, whereof it illegally plied the Nairobi-Naivasha route on the fateful day of the accident, September 28. 2025.”

Akomo blamed the driver and vehicle owner for contravening route allocation by operating outside its authorised route. “This action undermined the orderly management of public transport and compromised commuter safety as the driver was not familiar with the route.”

He further said that the driver of the vehicle was blamed for the accident but that was not his fault or NTSA, since he was driving recklessly and his misconduct endangered the lives of passengers and ignored traffic regulations.

Akomo said that the matatu was carrying 16 passengers instead of the recommended 14 passengers, which he said further attributes the accident to the driver’s misconduct.

He said that NTSA did not pass the vehicle inspection despite it not conforming to standards and blamed Alsops Sacco for failing in its statutory and regulatory role of monitoring, supervising and enforcing compliance among its members.

Justice Edward Muriithi in the ruling said that the petition largely sought compensation of the victims of the road accident, and without such relief sought the court did not have a basis to issue the order for its own sake.

He added that it was not clear how NTSA and Akomo had failed in performing their duties, adding that the alleged failure to enforce the safety standard on the vehicle will only be determined in a full hearing with the participation of Shikuku.

“The respondents have proffered an explanation as to how certification of the said motor vehicle could have happened with the alleged mischief of the third respondent. A determination of the point shall be made upon hearing.”

The judge said that issuing the order sought would be disruptive and that it could be cured by intervening circumstances.