The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) explained why motorists have to pay their instant fines through its KCB Bank account.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, July 1, NTSA revealed that the decision was made to protect motorists from scammers who target motorists with messages purporting to be from the Authority.
The organisation made it clear that all those who were fined needed to physically deposit the fines into the NTSA account at KCB Bank or through licenced KCB Bank agents.
"Payments for instant fines must be made physically to the NTSA account at Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB) branches or KCB agents. This decision is informed by reports of numerous SMS scams targeting motorists with fake fine payment demands," the statement read in part.
NTSA added that the physical payments streamline the payment of fines by introducing a verification mechanism.
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"Requiring in-person bank payments adds a critical verification layer to the payment process, which avoids Social engineering fraud," the statement continued.
The Authority warned motorists to be on the lookout for scammers, stating that any messages on instant fines must be from the official short code 22847_NTSA.
It added that all authentic messages include clear vehicle details of the offence, penalty, and payment instructions.
"Members of the public are strongly advised to always verify the source of any notification before making any payment," NTSA wrote.
Additionally, NTSA urged Kenyans to verify information through its official social media handles, emails and telephone numbers. The clarification came amid reports that the instant fines were being paid to an individual.
NTSA has further received backlash over the introduction of mandatory inspection of private motor vehicles.
Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua warned that if the government insisted on proceeding with the mandatory inspection plan, he would call for all motorists to park their vehicles for one week, until the state yielded to their demands.
He argued that the only language that Ruto understood was a peaceful economic shutdown of the country.
