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Road safety groups want the government to probe claims of massive corruption and incompetence at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), asserting that this has cost the country dearly through accidents.

This comes as reports indicate that nepotism and skewed hiring of staff have taken root at the Authority’s vehicle inspection units and other departments, compromising road safety standards.

Officials of the Speed Governors and Road Safety Association led by the Chairman Edward Gitonga asked Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir to overhaul the NTSA management if the runaway road carnage is to be tamed.

Gitonga accompanied by his Secretary General John Mutisya and Road Safety Association of Kenya Chairman David Kiarie asked the newly appointed Transport CS to move with speed and reverse the worrying traffic deaths by overhauling the NTSA management.

Unqualified staff

The lobbies took issue with the hiring process of road safety officers in which they claim unqualified persons including relatives of senior officials occupy key positions, while qualified automotive engineers are sidelined.

“We demand fresh vetting of all senior officials at the NTSA. In 2025 it should not be business as usual, we cannot continue losing lives on the roads yet there is an Authority charged with ensuring our roads are safe,” Gitonga said during a press conference in Juja, Kiambu County.

Mutisya on his part said the road deaths can be reduced by half in only a few months if the current CS works with stakeholders including road safety groups to reverse the worrying trend.

“We have been seeking to meet the new CS and share with him strategies that we believe can bring down the road carnage by 50 percent in the first six months of the year. The current NTSA management has been giving us a deaf ear,” said Mutisya.

Kiarie implored the Ministry of Transport to remove NTSA officers from the roads over alleged incompetence as witnessed during the festive season and replace them with traffic policemen.

“These officers only go to the roads to harass motorists with a view to collecting bribes as we witnessed over the Christmas holidays in which they were demanding up to Sh 10,000 from perceived offenders,” said Kiarie.