The Kenya Transporters Association(KTA) has moved to court to sue the county government of Kilifi after what they termed as unlawful charges by the devolved unit on parking fees and road tolls.
According to KTA, the county government of Kilifi has erected barriers on international and national roads within its boundaries and has continued to impose parking and market access fees.
In a statement by the association chairperson, Newton Wang’oo, the barriers, which charge between Ksh300 and Ksh5,000, are located on major roads and highways. This decision, they say, is likely to hurt trade and transport between Kenya and its neighbouring countries.
The association claims that barriers have been erected at several points, including Mtwapa on the Mombasa-Malindi highway, and on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway near the Mariakani weighbridge, before the junction leading to the Mariakani-Kaloleni-Mavueni highway.
''Ksh500 per loaded truck, received as a "County Parking Charge" paid via Mpesa, even when trucks do not park or stop within the county and are just passing through the highway,'' the statement from KTA read in part revealing some of the charges they have been unlawfully subjected to.
''Ksh3,000 per truck offloading goods within Kilifi County, received as "Market Stall Fees and Stall Rent" and paid via Mpesa. This is separate from Cess fees and applies to all trucks irrespective of the goods.''
According to KTA, the acts by the devolved unit amount to encroachment on national government functions on tolling of national roads, maintained by the Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA).
The KTA also argued that the fees contravene Article 209, which requires a direct correlation between levied charges and services provided, thus preventing arbitrary taxation.
Further, they argued that the fees impose an unsustainable financial burden on transporters, given that trucks often traverse multiple counties. The standoff could lead to increased transportation costs and ultimately inflate commodity prices across Kenya's 47 counties.
''These fees could escalate import and export costs, negatively impacting the viability of the Northern Corridor and potentially diverting trade to the Central Corridor through Tanzania,'' a statement from the KTA added.
In their demands, the association called for the national government and the Council of Governors to intervene and compel Kilifi County to withdraw the fees.
Additionally, it implored transporters to refuse to pay the fees and consider ceasing truck movement through Kilifi County.
''Importers and exporters should avoid using routes through Kilifi County due to potential increased costs and the risk of similar fees in other counties. Importers and exporters should explore alternative, more business-friendly, and cost-effective routes,'' the KTA added.
Consequently, the KTA has initiated legal proceedings against Kilifi County (Case Number HCCHRPET/E009/2025), seeking judicial intervention to nullify the imposed fees, which they maintained in their petition are unlawful and unconstitutional.
