The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has moved to clear confusion surrounding Kenya’s instant traffic fines system, insisting that motorists can still be fined for traffic violations despite ongoing court cases challenging parts of the programme.
The clarification comes after court orders issued by the Kiambu Law Courts triggered public debate over whether the government’s technology-driven enforcement system had been suspended.
NTSA Director General Nashon Kondiwa said the court orders only affect the Public Private Partnership (PPP) component that was expected to expand the country’s traffic surveillance network through the installation of additional enforcement cameras.
He explained that the Minor Traffic Offences Rules, which provide the legal framework for identifying and enforcing traffic offences through automated systems and police notices, remain fully operational.
“The Minor Traffic Offences Rules is being implemented. We have orders from Kiambu Law Courts directing us to keep records of payments and another order suspending the implementation of the PPP component,” Kondiwa said.
The authority stressed that the PPP programme and the Minor Traffic Offences Rules are separate matters, noting that no court has suspended the rules governing instant fines.
As a result, motorists continue to face penalties for offences detected through existing traffic enforcement systems. Cameras already installed by the Kenya National Highways Authority and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority remain active, while police officers continue issuing notices manually and through digital enforcement applications.
The clarification means drivers can still be cited for offences such as speeding, running red lights and lane indiscipline even as the court battle over the PPP arrangement continues.
The instant fines programme was introduced as part of a broader government effort to improve compliance with traffic laws and reduce road carnage by allowing motorists accused of minor traffic offences to pay prescribed penalties without undergoing lengthy court proceedings.
However, the programme has attracted legal challenges from motorists and civil society groups who have questioned aspects of its legality and implementation.
Kondiwa said NTSA is complying with court directives requiring it to maintain records of all payments collected under the system while the matter remains before the courts.
“The courts instructed NTSA to proceed but keep the payment records,” he said.
The case is scheduled to return to court for further directions on June 21.
The legal dispute has also disrupted plans to significantly expand the country’s automated enforcement infrastructure. Under the suspended PPP arrangement, the government had planned to install 1,000 additional traffic enforcement cameras within two years.
“The PPP rollout, which was to add 1,000 cameras in two years, is suspended. Any existing schedule will have to be adjusted until the court process is complete,” Kondiwa said.
Despite the setback, NTSA says it is pressing ahead with plans to integrate existing enforcement infrastructure operated by the Kenya National Highways Authority, the Kenya Urban Roads Authority and the National Police Service. The integration project is expected to be completed within six months.
President William Ruto has emerged as one of the strongest supporters of the instant fines system, arguing that tougher enforcement is necessary to curb reckless driving and reduce the number of lives lost on Kenyan roads.
While receiving a road safety report at State House Nairobi, the President directed authorities to implement fines that are difficult for offenders to ignore, saying the traditional enforcement model has been weakened by corruption and lengthy court processes that often allow offenders to escape accountability.
Ruto has also pushed for wider use of technology, including CCTV surveillance and speed-monitoring cameras, arguing that automated systems provide objective evidence while reducing opportunities for bribery.
Government officials maintain that money collected through instant fines is remitted to the Exchequer and does not form part of NTSA’s revenue.
“These are Exchequer revenues, not NTSA revenue. NTSA’s focus and mandate is road safety. The National Treasury would be better placed to provide revenue projections,” Kondiwa said.
For now, motorists hoping the court case had halted the instant fines regime have been put on notice. NTSA says enforcement remains active across the country, with only the planned camera expansion programme temporarily stopped pending the outcome of the legal challenge.
Prominent Nairobi lawyer Donald Kipkorir has launched a scathing attack on the government’s newly introduced instant traffic fines regime, arguing that the system violates fundamental constitutional principles and undermines the right to due process.
His criticism comes just days after the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) rolled out a new enforcement framework that allows motorists and vehicle owners to receive penalties for minor traffic offences detected by police officers, traffic cameras and other digital surveillance technologies without first appearing in court.
Under the framework, which took effect on June 1, motorists can be fined between KSh500 and KSh10,000 for offences ranging from speeding and driving without proper documentation to operating vehicles without valid inspection certificates. The system is designed to reduce congestion in traffic courts and improve enforcement efficiency.
However, Kipkorir argues that while the objective of improving road safety may be legitimate, the legal foundation underpinning the instant fines regime is deeply flawed.
“Before one is fined, one has to be proven guilty. Traffic laws are criminal in nature,” Kipkorir said in a statement that has sparked widespread debate among motorists, lawyers and constitutional scholars.
According to the lawyer, Kenya’s criminal justice system is built on the principle that guilt must be established before punishment is imposed. He argues that authorities cannot simply issue fines based on camera footage or vehicle registration records without first proving who committed the offence and under what circumstances.
Kipkorir pointed to two essential elements required in criminal proceedings: mens rea or criminal intent, and actus reus or the criminal act itself.
“The system assumes that the registered owner of a vehicle was the one driving at the time of the alleged offence. That is not always true,” he argued.
His concerns strike at the heart of NTSA’s new enforcement model, which allows notifications to be sent to registered vehicle owners once authorities gather sufficient evidence of a traffic violation.
Critics of the framework argue that vehicles are often driven by family members, employees, friends, chauffeurs or hired drivers, making it difficult to automatically attribute liability to the registered owner.
Kipkorir further contends that even where an offence is captured on camera, authorities may not be able to determine whether the violation was intentional or caused by extraordinary circumstances.
“A driver may have been responding to a medical emergency or other unforeseen situation. The law cannot simply presume criminal intent,” he said.
The lawyer also challenged what he described as the transfer of criminal liability from a driver to a vehicle owner.
“If the driver isn’t the owner, then to fine the owner is completely unconstitutional. There is no transferred malice in traffic laws. One person’s criminal conduct cannot automatically be transferred to another person,” he argued.
The controversy is likely to reignite broader debates over the balance between technology-driven enforcement and constitutional rights.
Around the world, automated traffic enforcement systems have faced legal challenges over privacy concerns, evidentiary standards and the presumption of innocence. Courts in several jurisdictions have been asked to determine whether camera-generated penalties amount to administrative sanctions or criminal punishments requiring full judicial oversight.
NTSA has defended the new framework, saying it was developed in consultation with the National Police Service, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and the Judiciary. The authority says the system operates under Sections 117 and 117A of the Traffic Act and is intended to enhance compliance with traffic laws while reducing delays in prosecuting minor offences.
Still, legal observers say Kipkorir’s intervention could signal the beginning of a constitutional showdown over one of the government’s most ambitious road safety initiatives in recent years.
While he acknowledged that technology can help curb dangerous driving and improve enforcement, Kipkorir maintained that the current framework lacks sufficient constitutional and legal safeguards.
“NTSA camera instant fines is a noble idea but without constitutional and legal foundation. It is executive irrational exuberance,” he said.
Whether the courts ultimately agree may determine the future of Kenya’s rapidly expanding camera-based traffic enforcement system and the thousands of fines expected to be issued under it in the coming months.
Kenya’s roads entered a new era on Monday when the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) activated its Instant Fines Traffic Management System, a fully automated enforcement platform that silently watches every vehicle on Nairobi’s busiest corridors and dispatches SMS penalty notices to offenders within minutes of a detected violation.
By mid-morning on the system’s first day of operation, motorists across the city were already reporting fine alerts on their phones. One driver shared an Sh10,000 penalty notice he had received after travelling at 128 km/h on Thika Road, a stretch where the posted speed limit is 110 km/h. Others took to social media to complain that they had been fined before they had any idea the system was live, let alone what the rules were.
“This is extortion at this point,” the Thika Road motorist wrote on X. His frustration reflects a sentiment shared widely among Nairobi’s driving public: a technology-driven enforcement regime has arrived swiftly, with limited public education and lingering legal questions about its constitutionality.
NTSA insists the rollout is lawful, necessary and overdue. Road crashes killed more than 5,100 people in Kenya in 2025, imposing an estimated Sh450 billion in economic costs through medical expenses, lost productivity and property damage.
The authority attributes a large share of those deaths to weak enforcement driven by a shortage of cameras, corrupt roadside policing and low enrolment in the smart driving licence programme. The instant fines system, NTSA says, is the antidote.
THE CAMERAS: WHERE THEY ARE AND HOW THEY WORK
One of the speed enforcement cameras installed by NTSA between Ruiru and Thika along the Thika Superhighway. The device is part of a nationwide rollout of about 700 stationary speed cameras on major highways and high-risk road sections, alongside 300 mobile speed cameras for targeted operations and spot enforcement. The camera network is linked to a National Command and Control Centre, enabling real-time monitoring of traffic violations, automated detection of offences, and the immediate issuance of penalties.
The enforcement infrastructure consists of more than 1,000 high-definition smart cameras deployed under a Sh42 billion public-private partnership between NTSA, KCB Bank Kenya and technology firm Pesa Print. The project, approved by Cabinet in December 2025, will run for 21 years, with the camera network ultimately transferred to state ownership at the end of the contract.
Of the 1,000 units, 700 are fixed cameras mounted at permanent positions along major highways and what NTSA describes as high-risk corridors. The remaining 300 are mobile units that enforcement teams will deploy at speeding hotspots and accident-prone zones on a rotating basis.
The cameras are linked to a National Command and Control Centre that monitors traffic in real time, detecting violations and automatically triggering the fine notification system without human intervention.
The system connects to NTSA’s smart driving licence database, which means every fine is tied directly to the individual driver’s profile rather than to the vehicle’s registered owner.
Once a violation is logged, the motorist receives an SMS notification containing the alleged offence, the location, and an image of the vehicle at the time of capture.
In practice, the cameras are concentrated along the roads that carry the highest volumes of traffic in Nairobi, routes where speeding and lane indiscipline have historically caused the greatest harm.
Thika Road, Mombasa Road, the Southern Bypass, the Northern Bypass, the Nairobi Expressway and Waiyaki Way are all under camera surveillance, with speed limits varying significantly from one section to another.
What has frustrated many motorists is that the camera positions are not publicly disclosed and, on many stretches, are not prominently signed.
Critics, including technology commentators and transport operators, argue this approach prioritises revenue collection over behavioural change.
Rwanda’s equivalent system, widely cited as a regional benchmark, marks every enforcement camera clearly so that drivers are warned in advance and have the opportunity to slow down. In Nairobi, the cameras are, for now, invisible.
SPEED LIMITS BY ROAD AND SECTION
Speed limits on Nairobi’s major roads are not uniform. They vary not only between roads but between sections of the same road, depending on the infrastructure, surrounding land use and historical accident data. The table below sets out the applicable limits on each major corridor currently under camera surveillance.
ROAD / SECTION
LIMIT
Thika Road — Safari Park to Thika Road
110 km/h
Thika Road — Roysambu / TRM
80–100 km/h
Thika Road — Jomoko to Thika Turnoff
80 km/h
Thika Road — Allsops / GSU HQ
80 km/h
Thika Road — Pangani / Muthaiga Interchange
80 km/h
Nairobi Expressway — Museum Hill to Westlands
80 km/h
Nairobi Expressway — After Nyayo Stadium
80 km/h
Mombasa Road — Mombasa Road to Nyayo Stadium
80 km/h
Mombasa Road — Sameer Business Park / GM
80 km/h
Southern Bypass — to Virtual Weighbridge
80 km/h
Southern Bypass — Ngong Road Interchange
80 km/h
Northern Bypass — After Gitaru
80 km/h
Northern Bypass — Ruaka / Wangige
80 km/h
Waiyaki Way — Kangemi / Uthiru
60–80 km/h
The most important figure for most Nairobi commuters is the 110 km/h limit on the section of Thika Road between Safari Park and the Thika Road exit. This is the highest posted speed limit on any Nairobi urban road and is the stretch where the first widely reported fine under the new system was issued. Below Safari Park, limits drop to 80 km/h or a variable 80 to 100 km/h range depending on the specific interchange.
The Nairobi Expressway, which carries significant cross-city traffic between Mlolongo and Westlands, is capped at 80 km/h throughout, including from Museum Hill to Westlands and after Nyayo Stadium. The Southern and Northern bypasses similarly sit at a flat 80 km/h limit. Waiyaki Way, which runs through heavier residential and commercial zones, applies the most conservative limits of 60 to 80 km/h depending on the section.
THE SPEEDING PENALTY SCALE
Speeding forms the backbone of NTSA’s enforcement model. The system applies a graduated penalty structure that becomes sharply more expensive as the excess speed increases. Crucially, the same scale applies regardless of the posted speed limit on the particular road: whether you exceed an 80 km/h or a 110 km/h limit, the bands and amounts are identical.
EXCESS SPEED BAND
PENALTY
1–5 km/h above limit
Warning only
6–10 km/h above limit
Ksh 500
11–15 km/h above limit
Ksh 3,000
16–20 km/h above limit
Ksh 10,000
The graduated structure means that a motorist travelling at 91 km/h on a road posted at 80 km/h will face a Sh3,000 fine for exceeding the limit by 11 km/h. If the same motorist had been travelling at 101 km/h on the same stretch, the fine would jump fourfold to Sh10,000.
Legal experts note that the sudden escalation from Sh3,000 to Sh10,000 for just five additional kilometres per hour creates what amounts to a cliff-edge penalty with no intermediate step.
THE FULL FINES SCHEDULE: ALL 37 OFFENCES
Beyond speeding, the system is designed to detect and penalise a broad range of traffic violations. NTSA has published a schedule of 37 offences that fall within the instant fines framework. The complete schedule is reproduced below.
OFFENCE
PENALTY
No identification plates / improperly fixed plates
Ksh 10,000
No valid vehicle inspection certificate
Ksh 10,000
No licence endorsement for vehicle class
Ksh 3,000
Failure to renew driving licence
Ksh 1,000
Failure to produce driving licence
Ksh 1,000
Unqualified PSV driver
Ksh 5,000
Driving on pavement / pedestrian walkway
Ksh 5,000
Ignoring police officer direction
Ksh 3,000
Ignoring traffic sign
Ksh 3,000
Failure to stop for police
Ksh 5,000
Causing road obstruction
Ksh 10,000
No reflective triangles / lifesavers
Ksh 3,000
Driving on footpath
Ksh 5,000
Driver using phone while driving
Ksh 2,000
Body part outside moving vehicle
Ksh 1,000
Unlicensed PSV driver or conductor
Ksh 5,000
Employer hiring unlicensed PSV staff
Ksh 10,000
Failure to refund fare (incomplete trip)
Ksh 3,000
Touting
Ksh 3,000
PSV driver / conductor without badge or uniform
Ksh 2,000
Undesignated person driving PSV
Ksh 3,000
PSV driver allowing unauthorised driver
Ksh 3,000
PSV with tinted windows / windscreen
Ksh 3,000
PSV without fire extinguisher / fire kit
Ksh 2,000
PSV picking / dropping at unauthorised stop
Ksh 3,000
No speed governor in PSV / commercial vehicle
Ksh 10,000
PSV seat belts not maintained
Ksh 500
Vehicle without seat belts
Ksh 1,000 per seat
Not wearing seat belt
Ksh 500
Vehicle without reflective warning signs
Ksh 2,000
Motorcycle rider without protective gear
Ksh 1,000
Motorcycle with more than one pillion passenger
Ksh 1,000
Learner without ‘L’ plates
Ksh 1,000
Pedestrian obstructing vehicles
Ksh 500
Passenger boarding / alighting at unauthorised stop
Ksh 1,000
Among the most significant fines is the Sh10,000 penalty for causing a road obstruction, a common issue in Nairobi where matatus stop mid-road to pick up or drop off passengers. Operating a public service vehicle without a speed governor will also attract Sh10,000, as will employing an unlicensed PSV driver or conductor.
The Sh1,000-per-seat penalty for vehicles without seat belts is notable for its potential cumulative impact: a matatu found to be missing seat belts across its full complement of seats could face a fine of Ksh14,000 or more from a single stop. Drivers using their mobile phones while driving face a Sh2,000 penalty, while those who fail to wear their own seat belt will be charged Sh500.
HOW TO PAY AND WHAT HAPPENS IF YOU DON’T
All fines issued through the automated system must be paid through the branch network of KCB Group within seven days of the SMS notification.
The seven-day window is strict: failure to pay within the deadline will result in interest accruing on the outstanding amount, and the vehicle or driver record will be blocked from conducting any transaction on NTSA’s service platforms.
That includes licence renewals, vehicle inspections, transfers of ownership and any other government transport service.
Critics, have pointed out the awkward contradiction in this arrangement: NTSA is marketing a digital enforcement revolution yet directing motorists to a bank branch to settle fines, a manual bottleneck that sits at odds with the system’s stated ambitions.
NTSA has said a Mobile Driving Licence wallet is in development that will allow motorists to carry digital copies of their licences, access offence records and pay fines through mobile and USSD channels.
NTSA has not disclosed whether repeat offenders will face escalating penalties beyond the standard fine amounts, nor has it clarified how the system treats special-category vehicles such as those transporting perishable goods, whose operators have raised concerns about the practical implications of being held up by fine-related transaction freezes.
THE LEGAL CHALLENGE
The system’s most consequential question is not how much it will cost motorists but whether it is lawful. Advocate Marvin Onyango has argued publicly that NTSA may have overstepped its mandate by treating automated camera captures as proof of guilt.
“Traffic offences are criminal in nature,” Onyango said. “Automated enforcement raises questions because it presumes guilt without considering the right to a fair hearing under Article 50. They cannot simply declare someone guilty and impose a fine without a hearing and proper evaluation of evidence.”
Article 50 of the Constitution of Kenya guarantees the right to a fair hearing. In the criminal law context, that right includes the presumption of innocence, the right to be heard and the right to challenge evidence presented against you. An automated system that issues a fine on the basis of a camera image and sends payment demands with a seven-day deadline provides none of those procedural safeguards.
Onyango’s position echoes a concern raised by the Federation of Public Transport Sector (FPTS), which, while broadly welcoming the system, has called for clear guidelines on who bears liability when a commercial vehicle is fined: the registered owner, the SACCO managing the route, or the individual driver behind the wheel at the time of the violation. The federation has also called for a consultative meeting with NTSA, the Judiciary and the National Police Service to address these gaps before the system’s enforcement bites more deeply into the sector.
NTSA had not responded to requests for clarification on the outstanding legal questions as of the time of going to press.
THE POLITICAL PRESSURE THAT DROVE THE LAUNCH
The speed with which NTSA activated the system has raised eyebrows in transport circles. The instant fines programme had been in the pipeline for years before President William Ruto’s intervention on March 2, 2026, when he used a road safety meeting convened by the National Council on the Administration of Justice at State House to publicly rebuke the authority for its inaction.
“I have always wondered why we have taken forever. Why don’t we enforce the instant fines programme? Why haven’t we rolled out the cameras on our roads? Rolling out cameras is not rocket science. Let us roll out the cameras in the five or six major towns within one month,” the President said, directing Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir to begin implementation immediately.
Within a week, NTSA had announced the system was live.
What the authority has not explained publicly is how 1,000 cameras were procured, installed, calibrated and connected to a functional enforcement back-end in that timeframe, unless the infrastructure was already substantially in place before the presidential directive was issued.
The Sh42 billion public-private partnership with KCB and Pesa Print had been approved by Cabinet in December 2025, suggesting months of preparation had already occurred.
What is clear is that political will has finally translated into operational deployment, and Nairobi’s motorists are now navigating a transformed enforcement landscape whether they were ready for it or not.
WHAT THIS MEANS FOR NAIROBI DRIVERS
For the average Nairobi motorist, the practical implications of the new system are significant. The most immediate risk is speeding on Thika Road, the single corridor where the first fine was already reported on day one of operations. The 110 km/h stretch between Safari Park and the Thika Road exit is where the risk of an Sh10,000 fine materialises fastest, particularly given Nairobi’s tendency for variable traffic flow that can tempt drivers to accelerate on open sections.
Matatu operators and their SACCOs face the broadest exposure across the full range of offences, from tinted windows and missing fire extinguishers to touting and fare refund failures. The industry has been warned. Commercial truck operators face particular risk from the speed governor requirement, a penalty of Sh10,000 that could land on fleets where vehicles have had governors tampered with or disabled.
For all motorists, the most important practical step is to verify their mobile number is correctly registered with NTSA, since the fine notification system operates entirely via SMS. A number that is outdated or unregistered will mean fines accrue unnoticed until a transaction block triggers an unpleasant discovery at a licensing office.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), in collaboration with the National Police on December 4, 2025 conduct crackdown on traffic violators at Salgaa, along Nakuru-Eldore Highway as part of a renewed effort to curb road accidents, particularly during the festive season.
