Deputy President Professor Kithure Kindiki has urged the High Court to lift an injunction that suspended the enforcement of National Transport and Safety Authority’s automated traffic penalties and installation of speed cameras across all highways.
Speaking at the ASK Kabiru-ini show ground in Nyeri, Prof Kindiki asked the Judiciary to support the government efforts in saving the lives of Kenyans who continue to die in road accidents. The DP said that the lifting of the orders would facilitate the operationalization of the new law and a new programme on road safety which would in turn curb accidents.
“We are requesting Judiciary to lift the orders which have frozen the installation of speed cameras on our highways and the application of instant fines for offensive drivers. In the interest of the public, let the case proceed but let the Judiciary lift that injunction so that we can flag drivers who over speed and those who are endangering the lives of Kenyans through careless driving,” he said.
In March, the High Court temporarily stopped the roll-out of the Instant Fines Traffic Management System pending the hearing and determination of a petition challenging the legality of the system.
In his orders, Justice Bahati Mwamuye also barred agencies implementing the new system, among them NTSA, from demanding, generating or enforcing instant or automated traffic penalties and fines under the system.
The road safety authority, NTSA, had earlier on rolled out the Instant Fines Traffic Management System which is designed to use speed cameras to detect and issue traffic fines without the need for human intervention.
According to NTSA, the speed cameras were to be installed in all major highways including Thika Super highway, Mombasa road and the Southern Bypass and to aid in capturing traffic violations in real-time.
The system use Artificial Intelligence and Automatic Number Plate Recognition to crosscheck vehicle registration numbers with the NTSA database for accuracy.
Once verified, motorists will receive a text message detailing the traffic violation and the fine to be paid. According to NTSA, the fines were to be settled within seven days failure to which it would accrue interests with the offender risking being blocked from accessing the Authority’s services until the fine is settled.
The road safety authority noted that the system would enhance transparency, efficiency and accountability in traffic enforcement.
But lawyer Shadrack Wambui moved to court seeking conservatory orders to halt the implementation until his petition is heard.
While defending the system, Prof Kindiki said that the automated system would help restore sanity among motorists. He regretted that the country was losing many lives to road accidents. “The government is committed to improving road safety in the country because we have lost so many people to road accidents. Even though we may not have the actual causes of some of these accidents, we acknowledge that we have a problem of speeding and unroadworthy vehicles on our roads that is why we are asking our drivers to be careful and to avoid over speeding,” said the DP.
“That is why last month we rolled out a programme of placing speed cameras on all the highways of our country and we also agreed that the cameras will monitor our drivers and effectively eliminate the use of traffic police who have been monitoring our motorists,” added the DP.
Prof Kindiki spoke during an interdenominational requiem service for 16 people who perished in a road accident on the Nyeri-Nyahururu highway. He was accompanied by Principal Secretaries Anne Wang’ombe(Gender),Dr Caroline Karugu(East Africa Community Affairs) and Alex Wachira(Energy).
Also in attendance were legislators from the county including Wambugu Wainaina(Othaya),Njoroge Wainaina (Kieni), Geoffrey Wandeto(Tetu),Duncan Mathenge(Nyeri Town),Eric Wamumbi(Mathira) and Rahab Mukami (Women Representative).
The March 28 incident happened a short distance from Dedan Kimathi University of Technology when a truck, which was transporting firewood to Nyeri town, collided with the PSV matatu which was ferrying commuters to Mweiga. The truck is said to have been avoiding a cyclist at the time of the collision.
While condoling with the affected families, the DP pledged government’s support for those affected by the crash .He also directed the Kenya National Highways Authority to conduct a full assessment of the Nyeri-Nyahururu highway and take necessary safety measures including erecting road signs to reduce accidents on the highway.
In his remarks, Nyeri governor ,Dr Mutahi Kahiga said that the incident had robbed the country of great individuals who had the potential to contribute to its development. He called on the government to seriously consider instituting measures to prevent further loss of lives through road accidents.
“When such incidents happen it is important for us to have a moment of reflection and introspection. We lost 11 lives on the same highway two years ago and we are here again talking about a road accident that has claimed more lives.
We now need to ask ourselves what we must do in order to prevent the loss of lives at such a big scale because as a country we cannot continue to lose lives of people who ought to contribute to nation building,” stated Dr Kahiga.
by Wangari Mwangi
