Motorists Association cites negligence, corruption for spike in road deaths

Wreckage of matatu involved in a crash. (Photo: Sholla Ard/X)

By Rachael Mutabasi
Tuesday, August 12, 2025

MAK said the Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport, together with the police, must be held accountable for the loss of lives, arguing that taxpayers have a binding social contract with the government to ensure safe, efficient, and lawful transport systems.

The Motorists Association of Kenya (MAK) has accused road state agencies of negligence and corruption, blaming them for a surge in preventable road deaths across the country.

This follows a statement by Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir on Monday, revealing that 2,933 people have died in crashes between January and August 10 this year, with 80 fatalities recorded in the past four days.

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CS Chirchir said a multi-agency team has been deployed to audit the affected road sections, reconstruct crash scenes, and report safety shortcomings within seven days.

However, MAK said the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), the police, the State Department for Roads, and Kenya Railways have all failed in their duty to keep the public safe.

In a statement, the association alleged that NTSA issues licences to drivers without the required skills and carries out fake vehicle inspections that allow unsafe vehicles to operate.

It cited a BBC investigation revealing that licences can be obtained through NTSA and driving schools without meeting required skill standards, and that many commercial vehicles never undergo genuine inspection.

"It is immoral and shameful that whenever road accidents spike and claim the lives of many innocent Kenyans, triggering public outrage, the very agencies mandated, funded, and entrusted to safeguard road safety suddenly awaken from slumber only to engage in public relations theatrics," the association said.

"These agencies, heavily financed by taxpayers and donors, do little to address the root causes of the carnage. Instead, they are often accused of taking protection money to overlook blatant violations of traffic laws, issuing empty statements, and staging media appearances to lecture everyone but themselves. They are directly responsible, by both commission and omission, for the needless deaths on our roads."

Traffic police, the association said, take bribes, turn a blind eye to blatant traffic violations, and extort motorists to the tune of Sh3 billion every month, a figure reported by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC). This corruption, it added, means dangerous drivers and unroadworthy vehicles operate freely while enforcement officers profit.

The State Department for Roads was accused of refusing to take responsibility for poor road designs linked to repeated accidents, such as the Kisumu Coptic Church Roundabout, which residents and Kisumu Governor Anyang' Nyong’o say is a frequent crash site.

Kenya Railways, the group added, has failed to install safety barriers at high-risk crossings in Mutindwa, Ruiru, Dandora, Moredat and other locations, despite being a profitable corporation earning billions annually.

"Fatal accidents have occurred at Mutindwa, Ruiru, Dandora, Moredat, and other sites, despite the corporation being a profit-making entity earning billions of shillings annually. The cost of installing and manning barriers is a negligible fraction of its earnings," stated MAK.

The association said these failures are compounded by a culture of “protection” money, where some officials take bribes from public transport operators known for habitual law-breaking. It accused the agencies of wasting donor funds on low-impact publicity campaigns instead of implementing life-saving safety measures.

The Motorists Association said Chirchir, together with the police, must be held accountable for the loss of lives, arguing that taxpayers have a binding social contract with the government to ensure safe, efficient, and lawful transport systems.