Kenyan motorists are set to face stricter vehicle inspection rules starting July 1 after new regulations by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) come into effect.
One of the biggest changes targets vehicles that have been involved in serious accidents. Under the new rules, vehicles classified as Category A, meaning they are damaged beyond repair, will be permanently removed from the road.
NTSA will de-register such vehicles and withdraw their number plates, making it illegal for them to be used again.
The move is aimed at improving road safety and protecting buyers from unknowingly purchasing heavily damaged vehicles that have been repaired and returned to the market.
Vehicles classified as Category B, which can still be repaired despite suffering structural damage, will face stricter conditions before they can return to the road.
Owners must repair them to acceptable standards, update their registration records to reflect their salvage status, and pass a fresh NTSA inspection before being allowed back into service.
The regulations also introduce tougher requirements for insurance companies and vehicle owners.
Anyone who fails to report a salvage vehicle to NTSA will be committing an offence. Similarly, motorists who continue operating vehicles that should have been declared salvage vehicles risk facing legal consequences.
Another major change is the expansion of mandatory annual inspections to privately owned vehicles that are more than four years old.
NTSA will also allow licensed private inspection centres to conduct inspections alongside the authority.
The new measures are expected to enhance road safety and improve accountability in the vehicle industry, but they may also increase compliance costs for motorists.
Davis Lichuma, an activist who had been reported missing, was found alive after allegedly being abducted, tortured and abandoned, according to the Social Justice Centres Working Group.
The group said Lichuma was discovered in critical condition after allegedly being dumped at Kenyatta National Hospital before being transferred to Nairobi Women’s Hospital for specialised treatment.