Cabinet chaired by President William Ruto on Tuesday, April 18, raised concerns over the rising cases of road accidents across the country.
The cabinet attributed the surge in cases of road crashes to human error along major highways in the country.
To restore sanity, Ruto's cabinet directed National Police Service (NPS) and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to heighten surveillance and crackdown on motorists flouting traffic rules.
"Meanwhile, the meeting stated with concern the rising cases of road accidents in the country," the cabinet despatch read in part.
"It directed the police and the National Transport and Safety Authority to rein in on the recklessness on the roads that has resulted in the loss of lives," it added.
Cabinet's directive came following an accident involving a public service vehicle and a lorry along the Nairobi-Nakuru Highway on Tuesday, April 18.
Preliminary reports indicated that five students perished following the crash. The students were headed to Nairobi at the time of the horrific accident.
At least seven other students sustained injuries following the crash.
On Monday, April 17, four people were confirmed dead after a Tahmeed bus overturned along the Nakuru- Eldoret highway.
On April Saturday, 15, ten people died after a bus lost control and rolled at the Josa area along Wundanyi-Mwatate road in Taita Taveta County.
Preliminary reports indicated that the bus was speeding before it crashed, leading to the accident.
Suggestions to NTSA
Following the surge in accidents, other stakeholders called on NTSA to revise its motor inspection mandate to allow only roadworthy vehicles on Kenyan highways.
In a media interview on Tuesday, April 18, Edward Gitonga, the Speed Governor and Road Safety Association chairperson, indicated that some public service vehicles were colluding with NTSA officials to get inspection certificates.
"The buses are no longer going for inspections, they are just given letters allowing them to hit the road," chairman of Speed Governor and Road Safety Association Edward Gitonga stated.
"What we want to say is that let the standard be the threshold to everyone, let not be that this governor belongs to who and who," Gitonga added.
On the other hand, David Kiarie Njoroge, the Road Safety Association of Kenya chairperson, called on NTSA to impose mandatory rules on sticking inspection certificates on all PSVs. He argued that the move was key to taming cases of unroadworthy cars on Kenyan highways.
