This archive report was first published on 27 August 2019.
On a typical Monday morning in Nairobi's Central Business District, a crackdown on safety belt measures led to the impounding of PSVs and the arrest of 30 passengers along Jogoo Road. The passengers were charged at the Makadara Law Courts and slapped with a penalty of Sh500 each for not fastening their seat belts, a move most decried as unlawful.
According to Eric John, one of the passengers, the officer checked four passengers before imposing a general arrest on them, then directing them to Makadara cells. "We were advised to plead guilty because it would act in our favor at the end of the day," John added.
However, Makadara OCPD James Mitugo said if indeed the blanket arrest was made, then the perpetrators could plead not guilty and the law could take its course. But as observed by Standard Digital, both road users and law enforcement agencies are to blame for the laxity in enforcing traffic rules.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i reinforced the infamous 'Michuki rules' in a crackdown in November 2018, targeting PSVs. The crackdown was seen as a move to smoothen an otherwise crooked public transport system that was causing havoc on the roads and leading to deaths of hundreds of passengers.
However, the dramatic arrests of offenders of traffic rules witnessed late last year have reduced in recent months as passengers seemed to have 'restored back to factory settings.' "My first instinct in a matatu is to get a seat and not a safety belt unlike in a private car where I must fasten my seat belt," says Stephany Mbeka, a regular commuter living in Nairobi.
According to NTSA, some 1,975 people have died from road accidents as of July this year. “Misplaced priorities and lack of political goodwill can partly share the blame for the laxity in implementation and enforcement of traffic rules,” Alfayo Otuke, former NTSA Director alluded.
