By Joshua Cheloti

Motor vehicle owners across the country will have at least 18 months to replace their old number plates with digital ones, the government has announced.

Outgoing Interior and National Coordination Cabinet Secretary Dr Fred Matiang’i made the announcement on Tuesday, August 30, 2022, during the unveiling of the new generation number plates.

Among the key components in the modern plates is inbuild features that allow the government to track a car’s ownership.

The new plates also have a modern look, totally different from what is currently used in the vehicles.

Unveiling of the new number plates is part of the reforms the government has been working on in the transport sector.

The changes are also in line with the amended Traffic Act of 2016.

“The work is being done by a multi-agency unit of the security sector and is part of the reforms initiated by President Uhuru Kenyatta after the 2019 Dusit attack,” CS Matiang’i said during the event at GSU Recce unit Headquarters in Ruiru, Nairobi where the plates are being produced.

Currently, there are an estimated 4.8 million vehicles that will need to change their number plates to modern ones.
The Interior CS says each motor vehicle owner will be required to pay Ksh3,000 to get the new plate.

“When the NTSA team calls on Kenyans to change the plates, let us obey and get it done within those 18 months,” he said.

The new plates will cover 12 different categories of vehicles, including those for private individuals, county governments, diplomats, and parastatals among others.

“They form a basis for tracking and monitoring vehicles in the country which have risen significantly from 3.2M million last year to 4.8 million this year,” noted Transport CS James Macharia.