The Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) has spoken out against the levies imposed by several county governments, which charge extra fees of between Ksh500 and Ksh30,000 per truck. The KTA has termed these levies as both unlawful and unconstitutional.
In a petition submitted to President William Ruto, the Prime Cabinet Secretary, the Council of Governors, and the Attorney General, KTA has named multiple counties allegedly violating the Constitution by imposing the fees on national roads and transit routes.
The petition, signed by KTA Chairman Newton Wang’oo, accuses several counties of charging transporters for passing through their jurisdictions without stopping, parking, or receiving services.
According to the association, these levies are unlawful and economically damaging, paralysing their truck business.
Counties charging extra levies
The transporters have specifically exposed seven counties for charging extra fees on truck transporters, they include;
- Governor Ochilo Ayako’s Migori County charges Ksh500 for Border Entry Fee per truck on national roads under the National Government’s jurisdiction.
- Marsabit County, led by Mohamud Ali charges Ksh1,000 for Loaded Motor vehicle transit Fees to and from Ethiopia per vehicle on national roads leading to the border.
- Dhadho Godhana’s Tana River charges Ksh2,500 for Entry/Parking Fee per truck, even when trucks are transiting on a national highway and have not stopped or parked anywhere on the highway.
- Joseph Ole Lenku in Kajiado County charges Ksh2,000 for Transit Fee per truck on national highways.
- Gideon Mung’aro’s Kilifi County charges Ksh500 for Entry/Parking Fee per truck, even when trucks are transiting on a national highway and have not stopped or parked anywhere on the highway.
- Fatuma Achani’s Kwale County charges Ksh2,500 for Transit Fee per truck on national highways.
- Wavinya Ndeti’s Machakos County charges Ksh2,500 annually for Truck Registration Fee for any truck loading/offloading within the county, even for a single trip, with penalties of Ksh30,000 and impounding charges of Ksh5,000 for non-compliance.
KTA also accused other counties of misinterpreting and misusing branding and distribution permit laws to pester transporters.
They accused the devolved units of charging branding levies to transporters for displaying a company name on the face of a truck. They also accused them of demanding annual distribution permits ranging from Ksh60,000 to Ksh150,000 per truck for one-off deliveries within their jurisdictions.
The association warned that these charges are fuelling graft at county checkpoints, inflating the cost of doing business, and driving up commodity prices nationwide.
KTA demands to President Ruto and Governors
KTA is demanding an immediate halt to these levies and calling for a comprehensive legal review of all county bylaws.
It has urged both national and county legal departments to eliminate provisions that violate the Constitution and adopt lawful, sustainable revenue alternatives.
"Counties must stop collecting these unlawful levies and adopt lawful, sustainable revenue alternatives. The legal departments of both the National and County Governments must review all bylaws across the 47 counties to ensure full compliance with Article 209(5) of the Constitution," KTA’s statement read in part.
