Following the departure of Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, road safety advocates are calling for an overhaul of the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to address the ongoing road accidents claiming lives daily.
They welcomed President William Ruto’s decision to dismiss the Cabinet, prompted by widespread protests led by Gen-Z youths in recent weeks.
Kenya Road Safety Association chairman David Kiarie, accompanied by Road Safety and Speed Governors Association acting Secretary General John Mutisya, emphasized the urgent need for action to curb road carnage. They cited a lack of safety commitment and alleged corruption within NTSA, which they claim was tolerated under the former CS’s leadership.
The officials urged decisive action from the President, noting previous appeals that went unheeded. They specifically called for the dissolution of the current NTSA board and the appointment of a new management team.
They also advocated for reinstating the previous board chaired by Aden Noor, which had initiated investigations into Director General George Njao before being replaced by Murkomen’s administration.
Under Murkomen, a new board was appointed, chaired by Manoj Shah of Kingsway Tyres, with new members Johnson Losilian, Paul Posho, and Lilian Mogendi replacing Omar Haji, Charles Nyabuto, and Simon Kalekem, whose appointments were revoked by the former CS.
Minimise accidents “With the exit of Murkomen, we need a thorough clean-up of the NTSA in all positions of management so as to return sanity to the roads and minimise the accident death toll which is now above the 4,000 mark in just six months,” he said
“All the senior directors and management officials including those at the vehicle inspection centres should be shown the door over incompetence and corruption.We recommend that the current Board of Directors be replaced by the previous one headed by Mr Noor,” Kiarie further said.
He emphasized that the next Roads CS should be a seasoned professional well-versed in road safety measures, preferably an engineer dedicated to enhancing safety standards. Kiarie also suggested that former NTSA Director General Francis Meja should return to the Ministry, possibly as Principal Secretary, highlighting his strong commitment to safety issues during his previous tenure.
Mutisya echoed these sentiments, urging President Ruto to swiftly implement reforms at the road safety Authority to address the ongoing challenges effectively.
“A wind of change is blowing across Ke[1]nya where even the Inspector General has resigned. This new should extend to NTSA whose management has been sleeping as people perish on our roads as a result of accidents which could have been avoided,” said Mutisya
