Kenya is facing a growing road safety crisis as the number of lives lost in crashes continues to rise despite government commitments to reduce fatalities.
The Road Safety Association of Kenya has raised alarm, saying that the National Transport and Safety Authority has failed to deliver on its mandate even after the launch of the Kenya National Road Safety Action Plan 2024–2028 by President William Ruto in April.
The plan had promised to cut road deaths by half by 2028, but recent figures and accidents show the country is moving backwards instead of forward.
The Association listed recent deadly accidents as proof of the worsening situation. On August 8, a bus rolled over at the Kisumu Coptic Roundabout, killing at least 25 people. Just a day earlier, a collision between a train and a staff bus in Naivasha had claimed nine lives.
On August 9, another crash involving a matatu and a lorry in Korompoi, Kitengela, left eight people dead. On September 29, tragedy struck near Kikopey in Kariandusi, where a matatu and a trailer collided, killing 13 people, with an ambulance accident on the same day taking six more lives.
According to national statistics cited by RSAK, fatalities rose from 4,324 in 2023 to 4,748 in 2024, showing a 10 percent increase. Already, more than 300 people have died in 2025, indicating that Kenya is far from achieving the goal of halving deaths.
RSAK went further to accuse NTSA of governance failures that have damaged its effectiveness. Attempts to extend the Director General’s tenure against the law, politically influenced recruitment, and reports of bribery in employment have undermined professionalism.
In addition, billions spent on ICT projects since 2016 have not translated into safer roads.
Concerns have also been raised about efforts to privatize key services such as vehicle inspection through Public Private Partnerships without transparency or public input.
The Association noted that the KS2295 telematics standard introduced in 2019 remains unimplemented, while cartels take advantage of loopholes and even mislead the President in the name of offering solutions.
RSAK questioned why KCB Bank was the only private body invited to the Inter-Agency Road Safety Conference in Mombasa on September 18, seeing it as a sign of undue influence.
The Association warned that vested interests have even reached Parliament, where reports suggest attempts to push for the dissolution of NTSA are being made not for public good but to shield those responsible for mismanagement.
It has called on the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission to intervene. RSAK chairman David N. Kiarie said Kenya’s road safety cannot be compromised by political deals or cartels, stressing that urgent reforms are needed to restore integrity and protect lives.
