Proposed instant fines questioned

Members of the National Assembly have questioned the status of the proposed instant fines system in the country, even as they demanded proper signage of speed limits, visible to the public.

The Transport Ministry clarified that the proposed instant fines system is not an isolated enforcement initiative, but a key intervention within the Government's broader road safety reform programme under the policy direction of the Ministry.

In a statement signed by Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir and presented in the House, he said the implementation of the instant fines management system is contingent upon the decriminalization of minor traffic offences currently provided for under section 117 of the Traffic Act.

“To facilitate this reform, the Authority, in collaboration with the Ministry and through the National Council on the Administration of Justice (NCAJ) Legal Sub-Committee is developing a Traffic (Amendment) Bill, 2026 to establish an administrative enforcement framework for minor traffic infractions,” he said.

Chirchir explained that the proposed amendments replace criminal prosecution with an administrative process under which traffic infraction notices may be issued electronically, offenders may admit liability and pay the prescribed administrative penalty or exercise their right to administrative review and appeal where the notice is disputed.

“The reforms are expected to significantly decongest the courts by removing thousands of minor traffic cases from the criminal justice system, allowing judicial resources to be directed towards more serious offences while enhancing efficiency, compliance, and technology-driven enforcement of traffic laws,” he insisted.

Starehe MP Amos Mwago had sought a statement on why cameras are placed where there are no signages, saying it is very unfair to fine a person where there are no signages, yet the cameras are operating.

The National Assembly Transport committee chairperson, George Kariuki (Ndia MP) read a statement from the Ministry, which insisted that roads sections where speed cameras have currently been deployed are fitted with requisite statutory speed limit signage.

But the Ministry acknowledged that the availability and condition of traffic signs across parts of the national road network remain inadequate and some of the signs have been vandalized, damaged or removed over time.

“To address this, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) is engaging with Kenya National Highway Authority, Kenya Rural Roads Authority and Kenya Urban Roads Authority and other relevant authorities to progressively install additional speed limit signs and advance warning signage informing motorists that speed is being monitored,” Kariuki read a statement from the Ministry in the House.

He also said that NTSA, through the department of roads safety audit in undertaking joint road safety audits and corridor assessment with the relevant road authorities to identify locations requiring additional or replacement of traffic signs.

At the same time, the Ndia MP said national road safety action plan provides for a phased implementation strategy based on risk assessment rather than a nationwide deployment at inception.

The implementation programme, he said, includes identification of high-risk corridors and urban areas using crash statistics and road safety data and progressive deployment of automatic speed enforcement demonstration projects on designated high-risk road sections.

There is also the expansion of automated enforcement and compliance systems to additional road corridors based on operational experience and road safety priorities as well as capacity building for enforcement agencies to ensure standardized and technology-driven enforcement.

According to the Ministry the Road Safety Investment Plan (2025) showed that road traffic crashes cost Kenya approximately Sh1.356 trillion in 2024, representing 8.2 per cent of the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an economic loss that nearly rivals the annual output of the entire land transport sector.

The report also indicated that pedestrians, motorcyclists and cyclists account for approximately 73 per cent of all road traffic fatalities, highlighting the disproportionate impact of road crashes on vulnerable road users.

“Without additional interventions, the report projects that road traffic fatalities could increase by 15 per cent by 2030, with crash-related losses rising to 9.3 per cent of GDP. Conversely, achieving the national target of reducing road traffic fatalities by 50 per cent by 2030 would reduce these losses to approximately 3.8 per cent of GDP, generating substantial economic and social benefits,” the Ministry explained.

The Ministry also insisted that implementation of the instant fines system is intended to be supported by the proposed Traffic (Amendment) Bill, 2026, which seeks to modernize the enforcement of minor traffic offences by replacing criminal prosecution with an administrative enforcement framework.

“The proposed reforms will reclassify specified minor traffic offences as administrative traffic infractions, allowing minor regulatory violations to be resolved through a fair, efficient and technology-driven administrative process while preserving the right of motorists to administrative review and appeal,” the statement explained.

“The reforms are expected to decongest the courts, enhance compliance with traffic laws, improve transparency in enforcement and allow the criminal justice system to focus on serious traffic offences that pose the greatest risk to public safety.”

He said NTSA has established comprehensive legal, operational and technological safeguards to ensure fairness, transparency and accountability.

“The Authority has developed Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) governing detection of offences, verification of offender identity, issuance of notifications, electronic payment, handling of disputed offences, data management, monitoring and reporting,” Kariuki stated.

Kariuki said system relies on certified speed detection devices, mobile surveillance systems and approved digital enforcement platforms capable of real-time recording of offences, automated penalty assignment and electronic reporting, thereby minimizing human error and enhancing evidential integrity.

Before any notification is issued, enforcement officers are required to verify the identity of the driver or registered owner, confirm vehicle particulars and ensure that the detected offence falls within the prescribed category of enforceable offences.

“Every motorist issued with a notification is informed of the particulars of the offence and afforded an opportunity to either admit liability and settle the prescribed administrative penalty or dispute the notification through the legally established,” he added.

The SOP prohibits cash payments to enforcement officers and all payments are processed electronically through designated Government payment platforms, generating verifiable electronic receipts and complete audit trails.

The MPs had varied opinion on the statement, with Molo MP, Kuria Kimani saying the punishment should be imposed on the driver because the offence is not committed by the owner of the vehicle; it is committed by the driver.

“Take, for example, all the secured loans from banks. A bank may have 100,000 vehicles on the road that are registered in the name of that particular bank. Therefore, if those fines are levied against the logbooks of those vehicles, it is the bank that will end up paying those particular fines. I think it is very important that this matter be re-examined and that you find a way of levying the fine on the person who commits the offence, namely the driver, and not the owner of the vehicle,” Kimani said.

Kathiani Robert Mbui said he supports cameras on the roads as part of enhancing discipline on the roads but was concerned that the signages are not clear.

“On Lang'ata Road, there's a camera—I don't know exactly where—but I have been a victim, and I know a few people who have faced the same situation. Sometimes you ask yourself why a camera would be placed in a location where there is no school nearby. It is basically a highway, yet the speed limit is set at 50 km/h,” he said.

Dagoretti South MP also welcomed cameras and surveillance on the roads but said that Kenyans are never able to tell where the speed limit zones are.

“There is never a sign showing you were at a specific speed limit starts and where it ends. There is technology available that can be utilized by NTSA to ensure that, when a charge is made, it is not occasioned on the owner of the vehicle. Instead, it should be a charge imposed on the driver who was driving the vehicle at the time the offence was committed,” Kiarie said.

Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji added: “I'm an avid user of Thika Road, and that's where these cameras have been concentrated. I believe the whole process of establishing these cameras must involve this House and the public keenly. We need to agree that technology is the way to go when it comes to the enforcement of our laws, but this is a process that must be implemented carefully, and its procurement and establishment must be highly publicized.”