The temporary suspension imposed on the 263 vehicles operating within the region with the operator NAekana Route 134 SACCO has been temporarily lifted by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) as a way of creating a temporary reprieve.
This follows a statement released on Friday by the NTSA, which stated that the lifting of the ban is a result of a ruling made by the Transport Licensing Appeals Board, which has given the matatus permission to start limited activities until Monday, January 26, 2026. According to the NTSA, this is not a full clearance but enforcement remains tight.
NTSA Lifts Suspension on Naekana Sacco Matatus After Appealing Board Rules
The SACCO is also already directed to submit a matrix on its compliance plan to the earlier mentioned violations as of January 26. The compliance plan will outline its intentions of addressing some of these issues leading to its suspension this month. Other directions will be given once this is reviewed.
Despite some of them being lifted from the ban, 128 vehicles that were cited for serious offenses still remain suspended and are not allowed to operate as PSV vehicles. According to NTSA, the list of all the affected vehicles has already been made publicly available through their official website.
The authority has equally announced that its service portal has reopened in order to enable Naekana SACCO to process and make its compliance documentation. However, NTSA has equally indicated that there are crucial safety requirements that are yet to be met.
“Temporary lifting of the suspension does not mean unconditional clearance,” the agency said, adding that its traffic enforcement officers have been given instructions to impound any noncompliant vehicles seen operating while under SACCO.
Their operations were initially suspended on January 19 following several offenses, including overspeeding, speed-limiting devices being tampered with or worn out, expired inspection and licensing certificates, and poor records of operations.
Further, the SACCO will be expected to establish operational offices and points of coordination at the major counties’ pick up/drop off points, allocate the vehicles to specific licensed routes, keep accurate records of manifests, and update the fleet maintenance schedules.
Furthermore, NTSA requires evidence of adherence to statutory requirements such as producing evidence of employment contracts, six months’ payroll records, as well as evidence of remittance of PAYE, NSSF, and SHA. Operators will also be required to provide reports on safety compliance in the last quarter of operation, as well as challenges encountered and mitigation measures applied.
There will be enforcement of the mandatory road sensitisation programmes for drivers, and SACCOs shall be required to submit their reports, photos, minutes, and attendances to the NTSA. The licenses will only be reinstated permanently after undergoing a series of safety audit compliance, as indicated by NTSA, even as residents are advised to desist from using transport toys owned by SACCO.