The Kenya National Highways Authority (Kenha) has slapped a truck driver with a Sh13.9 million fine for violating axle load regulations on Mombasa road.
The truck that was carrying sand was stopped by Kenha officers and the Axle Load Enforcement and Highways Unit police officers on Thursday night on Mombasa road.
The truck was found to have exceeded the normal weight of between 54,000kg and 78,740kg, which attracted a Sh13,987,323 fine under the East Africa Community Vehicle Load Act, 2016.
While addressing the press at Mlolongo Weighbridge on Monday, the Officer Commanding the Axle Load Enforcement and Highways Unit, Senior Superintendent of Police John Gichohi, said the police were forced to shoot in the air to scare away rowdy youths who tried to free the vehicle.
Kenha Axle Load Senior Engineer Kennedy Ndugire said the agency will do everything to protect roads from overloaded trucks.
He said the Regional Trunk Road Network stretching from Mombasa to Malaba is protected under the East African Community Vehicle Load Control Act, 2016, which stipulates that an overloaded truck will be charged a fine for excess cargo, which will also be unloaded before it is allowed to continue with its journey.
At the Mlolongo weighbridge, several river sand transport trucks have been grounded for floating the axle regulations. Kenha has classified Kajiado-Mashuru and Garissa roads among roads at high risk from sand trucks that operate at night.
The overloaded trucks use other smaller roads to evade the mobile weighbridges.