Police blame VIPs for chaos on Kenya roads
Internal Security Permanent Secretary Francis Kimemia. Photo/FILE
What you need to know:
What police recommended to PS Francis Kimemia:
- Reintroduce Alcoblow to catch drunk drivers.
- Introduce instant fines for offences.
- Withdrawal of licences from habitual lawbreakers.
- Suspend licences for convicted drivers for a specified period.
- Bar certain drivers from holding PSV licences.
Police have accused MPs and Cabinet ministers of frustrating enforcement of traffic rules by demanding preferential treatment on the roads.
In a protest letter to Internal Security Permanent Secretary Francis Kimemia, the police expressed dismay that top government officials were among habitual violators of the Traffic Act.
The letter, seen by Nation, recommends that the VIPs be censured in Parliament or reproached in public, but does not name them.
“Demand for preferential treatment has created the impression that the Traffic Act is for the less privileged and therefore oppressive,” the letter by senior officers at Vigilance House, the police headquarters, says.
It adds: “The quality of driving on our roads is way below the required standard of due care and attention.”
In reference to the law-breaking VIPs, it says: “Society looks upon the holders of these prestigious offices and their conduct influences that of everybody else. At the core is a skewed national attitude towards law and order.”
Senior officials can easily be spotted on Kenyan roads in their sleek limousines with tinted windows fitted with GK or private registration number plates.
The letter is a result of discussions following increased fatal road crashes in which 400 people die every month in which the police reviewed law enforcement strategies.
Eighty-five per cent of accidents, the letter added, are caused by disregard for traffic laws.
Latest police statistics show that 2,235 people died in road accidents and 11,737 others were injured between January 1 and mid-September this year.
