Digitise traffic system to make roads safer and more efficient

Nairobi's night traffic along Uhuru highway.[Elvis Ogina,Standard]

I am sharply critical of Kenya’s current traffic management practices. The traffic police have turned routine enforcement into a predatory ritual. Matatus and commercial vehicles are stopped with clockwork regularity, not to ensure safety but to trigger the familiar dance of intimidation and extortion.

Clause 105 of the Traffic Act, meant to allow lawful vehicle inspections, has become a licence for coercion: motorists are detained, threatened with ruinous court fines, and offered “concessionary” spot payments to escape. Officers arrive without cameras or basic evidence tools; police stations lack even rudimentary inspection equipment.