Transport Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has given police officers more mandate to enforce traffic rules in the country following an ultimatum from President William Ruto.
In a statement shared on Thursday, April 18, Murkomen announced that all law enforcement officers irrespective of their departments will now be required to play a critical role in ensuring the number of road accidents come down in the next 12 months.
This means that units including the Kenya Police Service, the Administration Police Service, the Directorate Criminal Investigations and the Internal Affair Unit will all be required to collaborate with the National Transport Safety Authority (NTSA) to enforce traffic rules.
The officers will now have more powers apart from their designated duties. Following Murkomen's orders even Prison officers will have the power to enforce traffic rules.
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"Following the directives issued by His Excellency the President, ALL Police officers are under instructions to enforce the LAW without considering their police departments," Murkomen announced.
However, Murkomen did not reveal to what extent police officers irrespective of their departments will be allowed to enforce traffic rules in the country.
Neither did he explain if they have the necessary knowledge to enforce traffic laws in the country.
This comes a day after President Ruto gave him a one-year ultimatum to ensure the number of road accidents come down.
"One year from now, we will have another meeting. That one year from now you must report that the numbers are down otherwise you will be in a lot of trouble," he stated.
