The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has revealed that vehicle inspections are expected to resume by December once a new automated inspection system is fully in place.
Speaking on Tuesday, June 30, NTSA Director General Nashon Kondiwa explained that the resumption of inspections will depend on the readiness of the new system as well as the rollout of private vehicle inspection centres.
"By December, the inspection system is expected to be fully automated, with vehicles assessed by machines that generate reports without human intervention. As a result, enforcement will depend on the system's readiness and the rollout of private inspection centres," he said.
Kondiwa further announced that NTSA is planning to license 70 private vehicle inspection centers across the country.
He said the authority is currently mapping out the country for private investors to set up motor vehicle inspection centers.
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Kondiwa noted that each county will have a private vehicle inspection center, adding that 10 centers will be set up along the Northern Transport Corridor, which runs from Mombasa to Malaba.
He mentioned that Nairobi and Mombasa counties are special and will get 10 and 3 additional inspection centers, respectively.
"We are mapping out the country for private investors in the motor vehicle inspection centers. First, we will make sure that there is an inspection center in every county. We know the transport corridors like the counties in the northern corridor from Mombasa to Malaba; we will have 10 inspection centers, making the number of centers 57.
"Nairobi and Mombasa are special. Nairobi is home to 60 percent of the vehicles, and Mombasa is the logistics gateway. Nairobi, we may add another 10, and Mombasa another 3. That will give you a total of 70 private inspection centers," he added.
Kondiwa explained that the private vehicle inspection centers will be integrated with the authority's registry.
He said once a motorist completes a vehicle inspection at any of the accredited centers, the data will automatically be transmitted to NTSA's system.
"The inspection centers will be privately owned, though operating from NTSA’s registry because we want when you finish your inspection, that data is available in NTSA," he further said.
The development comes days after NTSA issued a clarification on the implementation and enforcement of newly introduced vehicle inspection requirements.
In an update on Sunday, June 28, the authority said the move follows an earlier notice on the inspection of various categories of motor vehicles.
NTSA announced that school transport operators will not face penalties for failing to comply with specific provisions of the new school transport regulations.
"School transport operators shall not be penalized for non-compliance with Rule 13 (Reflectorised red stop mechanical signal arms) and Rule 14 (Telematic system) of the Traffic (School Transport) Rules, 2026," the statement read.
NTSA also clarified that commercial service vehicle operators will not be penalized for failing to comply with the telematics system requirement under the new commercial vehicle regulations.
"Commercial service vehicle operators shall not be penalized for non-compliance with paragraph d (Telematic system) - 9 of the NTSA (Operations of Commercial Vehicles) Regulations, 2026," the statement added.
NTSA further assured private motorists that mandatory vehicle inspections will not be enforced during routine road checks by traffic officers.
"During route checks, traffic officers shall not enforce the mandatory inspection requirement on private motor vehicle owners," the statement further read.
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