NTSA’s automated instant fines system recorded Sh234 million in penalties before a court halted its expansion in June, but motorists have paid only Sh37 million, Director General Nashon Kondiwa has said.
How the automated instant fines system works
The figures underline a wide gap between tickets issued and cash collected under the National Transport and Safety Authority’s technology-driven enforcement programme. The system was designed to detect minor traffic offences—mainly speeding—through cameras and digital police notices, then send motorists an SMS with the vehicle registration, location, offence and fine, without a mandatory court appearance.
NTSA’s position on the court orders
Kondiwa has maintained that the June court action suspended only the expansion of the network under a public-private partnership, not the rules that allow instant penalties to be issued through existing infrastructure. High Court orders, including a conservatory order issued on 29 May 2026, froze implementation of the PPP between NTSA and the Pesa Print Limited consortium covering smart driving licences, additional cameras and associated services.
NTSA’s position is that cameras already installed by the Kenya National Highways Authority and the Kenya Urban Roads Authority, together with a digital enforcement application used by traffic police, remain available for enforcement under the Minor Traffic Offences Rules.
“The Minor Traffic Offences Rules is being implemented. We have orders from the Kiambu Law Courts directing us to keep records of payments and another order suspending the implementation of the PPP component,” Kondiwa said in June.
He has repeatedly drawn a distinction between the suspended expansion and the rules themselves, which he says no court has set aside.
KCB payments and verification of notices
Payment has been one of the programme’s most contested features. Motorists are directed to settle fines at Kenya Commercial Bank branches or KCB agents rather than through eCitizen.
Kondiwa has said the physical step was added deliberately, citing a wave of SMS scams that predated the launch and the risk of payments being diverted. Official notices are supposed to come from an NTSA short code and include a reference number that can be checked at the bank before cash changes hands.
Collections are meant to flow to an account co-managed with KCB and onward to the exchequer, not to NTSA as custodian.
The gap between fines issued and payments collected
Even so, compliance has lagged the value of tickets recorded. Of the Sh234 million in fines logged before the expansion was suspended, only Sh37 million has been paid, according to the Director General.
The unpaid balance raises questions about notification, verification, and whether motorists are treating the tickets as optional while litigation continues.
Court challenges to the instant fines rollout
The rollout has been legally turbulent since March 2026, when NTSA announced the Instant Fines Management System and the High Court quickly issued conservatory orders temporarily stopping the authority from issuing, generating or enforcing automated penalties under the contested framework. NTSA withdrew its launch notice later that month.
Further petitions, including one by the Consumer Federation of Kenya, led to extensions of interim orders, with one matter listed for ruling on 26 November 2026. The Road Safety Association of Kenya has also sought to have Kondiwa cited for contempt, arguing that the authority continued aspects of the rollout after being served with the May order.
Reported speeding penalties and demerit points
Penalty bands reported by NTSA for speeding include Sh500 for exceeding the limit by 6–10 km/h, Sh3,000 for 11–15 km/h over, and Sh10,000 for 16–20 km/h over, with demerit points that can accumulate toward licence suspension. The authority has said cameras will be accompanied by signage marking speed-monitoring zones and will operate alongside conventional police enforcement rather than replace it.
Senate scrutiny and possible programme resumption
On 8 October 2026 the Senate Standing Committee on Information and Communication Technology summoned Kondiwa to Parliament Buildings to examine how offences are identified, how motorists are notified, and how payments are processed. Separately, NTSA officials have indicated the wider instant-fines programme could resume from late November if the outstanding court matters are resolved.
The unsettled position for motorists
For motorists, the practical position remains unsettled: tickets linked to existing cameras and police notices have continued to circulate, the expansion of the camera network is under court restraint, and most of the value recorded before June has not been paid.