NTSA officials nab 30 motorists for operating 'private matatus'

Elija Nabote (second left) argues with National Transport and Safety Authority staff along Waiyaki Way after a vehicle he was travelling in was impounded during a crackdown. [PHOTO: JONAH ONYANGO/STANDARD]

NAIROBI: At least 30 motorists heading upcountry for the New Year festivities were arrested after the national road safety agency and police launched a crackdown on private vehicles operating as Public Service Vehicles (PSVs).

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), in conjunction with traffic police, Thursday conducted a crackdown along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway targeting private vehicles, catching many travellers unawares.

The motorists were nabbed at a roadblock mounted near Kabete Police Station in the exercise that lasted for two hours.

NTSA Director-General Francis Meja led the operation which saw vehicles of offending drivers impounded.

The impounded vehicles were driven to Kabete Police Station.

The drivers and owners of the vehicles are expected to appear in court to answer charges of illegally carrying passengers.

A former civic leader Elijah Nyabote, who was travelling to his home in Kisii for a funeral was among the commuters left stranded for several hours, after the car he had boarded was netted.

"I could not find a bus or matatu heading to Kisii and decided to hire a private car. I paid a total of Sh10,000 to the driver for my fare and that of the five people I was travelling with," he said.

"It is unfortunate that our driver has been nabbed for ferrying us without authorisation. There is no way we could tell whether he was licensed or not," said Mr Nyabote, who lamented that they had been greatly inconvenienced but added that he fully supports the operation.

Another commuter, who only gave his name as David, said he was travelling to Eldoret to be with his family and was disappointed that NTSA had launched the crackdown on the eve of New Year.

"If NTSA is serious, this should not be a one off operation on the eve of a holiday. They should conduct these checks everyday," he said.

The NTSA boss, while speaking to journalists, said the authority and traffic police will sustain the campaign, revealing that the crackdown on private vehicles which ferry fare-paying passengers will continue throughout the year.

"Just like the way we introduced Alcoblow on our roads to nab drink-drivers and kept on the momentum, we shall not slow down on this campaign," Meja said.

He said the exercise is not in any way meant to harass motorists, pointing out that a large number of the accidents that have occurred in the country the last one year involved private vehicles.

"Over 60 per cent of the accidents recorded in 2015 involved private vehicles. We have every reason to believe that private vans masquerading as PSVs are the major cause of deaths in our roads," he said.

Meja appealed to the public to shun paying to board private vehicles for their own good, cautioning that in case of an accident they will be on their own as there is no insurance cover for them.

"It is not only about insurance, some of these private motorists are driven by greed. They can make several long trips without taking a rest for money, putting the people they carry on their cars at  high risk," he said.