Motorists Association of Kenya decries state plan to inspect private vehicles older than four years
According to the Ministry of Transport, the proposal aims to enhance road safety, reduce harmful emissions, and ensure vehicles remain roadworthy.
The Motorists Association of Kenya (MAK) has condemned a state proposal to introduce mandatory inspections for private vehicles older than four years, calling it a "shameless revenue grab" that would burden already struggling motorists.
The backlash follows a recent announcement by Transport Cabinet Secretary (CS) Davis Chirchir proposing new laws that would require periodic inspections for vehicles above four years of age.
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According to the ministry, the proposal aims to enhance road safety, reduce harmful emissions, and ensure vehicles remain roadworthy.
"The Motorists Association of Kenya unequivocally condemns the government's latest attempt to impose mandatory inspections on private vehicles," said the Association in a statement on X on Tuesday.
"This proposal is not only unjustified but stands as a testament to shameless greed and an unrestrained appetite to squeeze Kenyan motorists dry, without conscience or care for the economic agony already borne by vehicle owners."
Further, the Association dismissed the initiative as a thinly veiled attempt to generate what it termed as unjust revenue rather than improve road safety.
"Chirchir's lie is peddled to disguise an unjust revenue grab on top of new other unjust KRA CRSP making popular car models unaffordable, illegal increase of RMLF, Excise, number plate, smart DL Scams, 3 billion monthly roadside extortion and swaddled cash bail deposits," said MAK.
According to the Association, the government is targeting private car owners with a system it claims is already riddled with corruption and inefficiency.
"Let it be known: the current inspection regime for commercial vehicles is already a well-documented farce. Over 90% of these vehicles secure inspection stickers without ever seeing the inside of an inspection bay," said the Association in a statement on X.
"It is a revenue-collection spectacle rife with corruption and backdoor dealings. Now, inspired by this lucrative chaos, conspirators within the government seek to replicate this farce vehicle inspection circus at the expense of law-abiding private vehicle owners."
Furthermore, the Association maintained that private vehicles are rarely responsible for serious accidents, and that official crash data indicate instead that a broken driver licensing system is a major cause of road accidents.
"Private cars are rarely the cause of road carnage in Kenya. Even where they occur, the government's data confirms they are overwhelmingly due to driver error, the tragic result of a broken driver licensing system that openly sells competence certificates to the highest bidder," it said.
"Considering the huge number of private vehicles on our roads, it is undeniable that their involvement in accidents is negligible compared to commercial vehicles. This alone shatters the dishonest narrative that accidents are the justification for private vehicle inspections."
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