President William Ruto on Friday, November 4 stated that his government had made progressive plans to roll out instant online fines for motorists flouting traffic rules.
Speaking during the launch of the Judiciary Annual Report, the head of state disclosed that plans to acquire digital cameras were underway.
The CCTVs will be erected on different highways in the country, with Nairobi county given priority.
Besides aiding in tracking vehicles, the cameras will assist law officers in enforcing traffic rules, arresting petty traffic offenders and charging them instantly.
Defending the introduction of instant online fines, President Ruto maintained that move would be key in addressing the backlog of traffic offences in the courts.
"It is correct for the governor of Nairobi to work with us, and I have already given firm instructions on digitising Nairobi and many of the big towns and making sure that we have digital cameras.
"So that we can make it much easier for us to move traffic cases that constitute a huge backlog in our courts. That should be done in the space that provides for instant fines online so that we can decongest our courts," Ruto stated.
The President made the remarks while responding to Governor Johnson Sakaja, who appealed to Chief Justice Martha Koome to prioritise the creation of small courts to handle cases of petty offenders apprehended in Nairobi.
"We note that there is a caseload at the city court right here at City Hall whose bulk of cases are traffic related, which are motorists within the city.
"Our remand facilities are congested with petty traffic offenders arrested by enforcement officers within the city," Sakaja stated.
Besides helping the National Police Service (NPS) by purchasing digital cameras, Ruto also promised to enhance budgetary allocation to the Judiciary annually.
He also vowed to support its digitisation programme to improve its service delivery across the country.
