Chants and disorder characterized the atmosphere outside the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) head office on Thursday morning when scores of protesters marched in the streets, urging action against what they termed “spinning out of control corruption” and increased road accidents in the nation.
The demonstration, organized by the Road Safety Association of Kenya (RSAK), held top NTSA management like Director General George Njao responsible for failing to stop the increase of fatal accidents but instead encouraging corruption in the transport sector.
Waving placards and singing “End road carnage now!”, the demonstrators proceeded to the NTSA compound where they delivered a petition calling for Njao’s removal from office. They blamed deep-seated corruption for having crippled the agency’s ability to enforce safety standards and inspect vehicles effectively.
More than 1.2 million vehicles were left uninspected in 2024 alone, a failure he alleged had harvested KSh7.2 billion in bribes.
“It’s Kenyan citizens who fund this office. They’re paying salaries of people who are working here,” Kierie remarked outside NTSA. “If the Director General is unable to do his work, then he should leave. Enough is enough.”
Kierie claimed that at least 60,000 Kenyans have lost their lives in road accidents over the past six years due to corruption and mismanagement within NTSA and the transport sector in general.
The protesters also demanded the NTSA Board of Governors to advertise the Director General’s position and nominate an acting head within a week in a bid to restore public trust in the organization.
Among the grievances listed in the petition was NTSA’s purported failure to take full ownership of the Transport Integrated Management System (TIMS), more than two years after its introduction in March 2023.
The committee reported that NTSA was still incapable of generating crucial reports to track revenue and performance, which raised questions about accountability.
They further claimed that although over four million smart driving licences were issued, many of them were not being utilized without any official explanation.
They also reported that the system was adopted without an agreement of contract, compromising the legal and technical control of NTSA.
The protesters did not spare the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), which they accused of disregarding graft allegations highlighted in numerous Auditor-General reports.
All Auditor-General reports have been on the EACC desk for over two years,” Kierie said. “We require action not excuses.”
The NTSA officials were not readily available to comment on the allegations.