NTSA banks on new initiative to promote road safety for school children

 

Students gather to perform a skit at Mwangaza Comprehensive School in Kayole, Nairobi, ahead of the official launch of new road safety infrastructure. [Edwin Lisamira, Standard]

At least 3,900 people have died in road crashes across the country between January and October, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has said.

The authority’s assistant Director, Road Safety, Samuel Musumba on Wednesday said the majority of the fatalities were pedestrians, as road safety stakeholders intensified calls for safer school zones to curb road accidents involving school children.

Mr Musumba spoke at Mwangaza Comprehensive School in Kayole, Nairobi, during the official commissioning of an initiative dubbed the ‘Safe Roads, Bright Futures’ infrastructure project.

He said the number of road crash deaths jumped by 6 per cent in 2025, as Kenya recorded over 5,000 deaths.

“5,009 lives were lost by the end of December 2025, the highest number of deaths on our roads in the last five years. That is a whole 6 per cent rise in terms of deaths,” Musumba said, noting that while 1,890 – almost 38 per cent of the deaths - were pedestrians, Nairobi accounted for the highest number of fatalities.

“Nairobi recorded 560 deaths last year. A majority of these deaths were pedestrians. That is a call, really, for us to act,” Musumba said, adding, “Protecting pedestrians, particularly children, remains a priority for all of us.”

Musumba emphasised that no child should lose their life for simply walking to school, noting that the ‘Safe Roads, Bright Futures’ initiative will help protect children and should serve as a model for other learning institutions nationwide.

“I want to assure this congregation that what we are commissioning today is consistent with the government's agenda, which is within the National Road Safety Action Plan 2024-2028. We are implementing the plan, and our target is to reduce these deaths by at least 50 per cent,” Musumba said.

The initiative, funded by the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative for Global Road Safety, the Association for Safe International Road Travel, and other partners, saw vital traffic-calming features, including zebra crossings, bright school-zone signs, speed bumps, and protected sidewalks, installed on roads adjacent to Mwangaza Comprehensive School.

Musumba said the NTSA, working alongside the organisations funding the initiative, will scale up the project nationally.

NTSA said at least 3,900 people have died in road crashes across the country between January and October. [Edwin Lisamira, Standard]

Roselyne Moraa, the Initiative Coordinator, also stressed the need for safer school zones, saying the initiative is designed to ensure that no parent worries about whether their child will return home after leaving for school.

“What we are unveiling here at Mwangaza today is more than a pedestrian infrastructure; it is a statement of what we value. It says that a child matters; it says that walking to school should never be a risk, and safer roads are our responsibility,’ said Moraa.

Richard Nyaga, headteacher of Mwangaza Comprehensive School, said the roads leading into the school were unsafe for learners, as vendors and mechanics had occupied pedestrian walkways and most boda boda riders were disregarding traffic laws.         

Nyaga noted that two separate accidents involving learners from the school occurred near the school before the roads leading into the institution were demarcated.

In July, a student heading home from school was knocked down by a PSV bus at 3.30 pm. He died from his injuries.

“Most recently, a student was hit by a vehicle and was hospitalised. However, today children can walk freely into the school. The pavement has been demarcated clearly. It looks like a highway,” Nyaga said.

Charles Kerich, Nairobi County CEC for mobility, urged everyone to take road safety seriously, saying the NTSA's recorded number of road crashes should worry all Kenyans.

“During Covid-19, there were lockdowns everywhere. People were told to stay at home and maintain social distancing. And they all obeyed… The number of road deaths in 2025 is two and a half times more than those who died from Covid, yet we don't see any panic when it comes to road crashes,” Kerich said.

While learners were urged to always use designated areas, including zebra crossings, when crossing busy roads, parents were urged to buy helmets for learners who commute on boda bodas, and riders were warned against carrying more than one learner.