Law enforcement officers on Friday, March 24, launched an impromptu operation in Nairobi, impounding several public service vehicles (PSV) operating without insurance covers.
The crackdown, which focused on various routes, including Thika Super Highway, Jogoo Road and Mombasa Road, among other routes, also seized matatu operators with counterfeit insurance covers.
It also exposed a syndicate generating fake insurance covers and dishing them out to matatus and private car owners at subsidised prices.
The crackdown followed an accident along the Nairobi-Narok highway, where it was established that matatu had an invalid insurance cover.
Following the arrest, Nairobi police bosses indicated that matatu owners and other private car owners would be prosecuted and charged for violating traffic rules.
They argued that having insurance cover was a legal requirement in the country.
It provides financial protection in an accident and covers injuries to other car drivers, pedestrians and passengers.
The cost of car insurance in Kenya depends on various factors such as type of car (private, commercial PSV), market value and age of the car.
There are two main car insurance covers: comprehensive and third-party car insurance.
Third-party cover only protects motorists against damages and injuries to another person while comprehensive policy ensures damages caused to motorists and damages caused to other parties and their property.
Various companies are approved to provide insurance covers to various motorists.
In December 2022, Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen and his interior counterpart Kithure Kindiki announced a nationwide crackdown.
The multi-sectoral operation was aimed at reducing the level of road crashes in the country. It was also meant to nab motorists flouting traffic rules during the festive season.
Following the operation which was extended to 2023, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) recorded a decrease in cases of road accidents.
The safety authority revealed that road fatalities had decreased by 4.6 per cent in one year.
According to the report, the number of fatalities involving pedestrians, pillion passengers and motorcyclists had reduced from 1,021 to 974 between March 20, 2023, and the same date the previous year.
