By Patricia Mollyne Mataga
A UDA-elected member of parliament has blamed the traffic police for the recent surge in the number of road accidents.
According to Keiyo South MP Gideon Kimaiyo, the Traffic Police Officers are the weakest link in efforts by various agencies to enhance road safety.
In a post on his verified X handle, the legislator serving his first term expressed the need for a clean-up exercise in the transport sector to start from the traffic department.
He accused officers attached to the department of always turning a blind eye to key traffic law violations such as excess passengers for the sake of bribes.
“When it comes to road safety, everyone plays a role. However, traffic police are often the weakest link, turning a blind eye to excess passengers on PSVs. That’s where the fight should begin: enforcement of traffic rules,” MP Kimaiyo said on Tuesday, March 19, 2024.
His statement comes in the wake of the recent series of accidents that have claimed over 20 lives within a week.
Some of the latest accidents include the one involving the Kenyatta University bus that led to the deaths of at least 11 students and several others injured.
12 other passengers were also killed in an accident involving a Public Service Vehicle at Kuja Bridge in Migori County on Monday night.
A day earlier, 5 other passengers were reported dead in an accident in Bomet.
The recent wave of accidents has since sparked uproar from members of the public.
Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen in a statement on Tuesday directed that all drivers undergo fresh medical check up
Murkomen said the move is part was the government’s effort to curb road accidents.
“NTSA to put in place measures for the implementation of medical testing of all drivers as required by section 105 (1) and rule 30 (4) of the traffic (driving schools, driving instructors and driving licence) rules 202 before the issuance of any new driving licences and renewal thereof to ensure only drivers who are medically fit are licensed to drive,” the CS said.
Statistics from the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) show that at least 500 people have died due to road accidents across the country this year.