Traffic offenders set to pay fines by phone

PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE Traffic police officers with speed cameras.

What you need to know:

  • Senior deputy registrar at the magistrates courts Caroline Kabucho said mobile money payments would soon be available to replace bank transactions
  • Transport Principal Secretary Nduva Muli said allowing the industry to regulate itself would also help the government deal with mushrooming “briefcase saccos”

Traffic offenders could soon pay instant fines through mobile phones as law enforcers seek to fast-track the dispensing of justice.

Courts would have a magistrate and clerk available at all times to deal with offenders immediately instead of booking them at police stations first.

Senior deputy registrar at the magistrates courts Caroline Kabucho said mobile money payments would soon be available to replace bank transactions.

“We want paying fines to take a few hours,” Ms Kabucho said at the launch of the “Safety First” campaign by the National Transport and Safety Authority at Uhuru Park in Nairobi on Wednesday.

These are some of the measures being put in place by the police, Transport ministry and the Judiciary to curb road carnage which has so far claimed 2,025 people this year.

Police will also set up mobile road inspection clinics, with special gadgets to check whether vehicles are fitted with speed governors.

The police also plan to empower matatu saccos to enforce some of the safety rules.

Transport Principal Secretary Nduva Muli said allowing the industry to regulate itself would also help the government deal with mushrooming “briefcase saccos” which operate vehicles like the Probox cars converted into 14-seater transporters.

“We will crackdown on the Proboxes and those found riding in their luggage space will also face the full force of the law.” Mr Muli said the government would open debate on a ban on importing 14-seater matatus that has led to the mushrooming of the Probox.

He was non-committal whether the ban would be lifted but directed that the Probox be removed from the roads.