NAIROBI, Kenya, July 21 – The Senate has annulled regulations that would have introduced mandatory annual inspections for private vehicles more than four years old, dealing a blow to the National Transport and Safety Authority’s (NTSA) planned overhaul of vehicle inspections.
The decision overturns the Traffic (Motor Vehicle Inspection) Rules, 2026 (Legal Notice No. 13), which sought to require annual inspections for privately owned vehicles older than four years.
The move comes weeks after the High Court suspended implementation of the rules pending the hearing of a petition challenging their constitutionality.
Before the court’s intervention, private vehicles were largely exempt from mandatory inspections, with the requirement applying mainly to public service vehicles, commercial vehicles, driving school vehicles and government fleets.
The proposed rules had drawn criticism from motorists, who argued they would increase the cost of owning a vehicle.
Lawmakers further revoked the NTSA (Operation of Commercial Vehicles) Regulations, 2026 (Legal Notice No. 14), which required commercial transport operators to install telematics systems, speed governors and underride protection devices, while introducing new rules on driver working hours and safety training.
The regulations had faced opposition from motorists, schools and transport operators, who argued that they would significantly increase compliance costs and had been introduced without adequate public participation.
Following the backlash, NTSA had already suspended enforcement of several provisions, including requirements for school buses to install reflectorised stop signal arms and telematics systems, and the mandatory installation of telematics devices in commercial vehicles.
The authority introduced the three sets of regulations earlier this year as part of efforts to improve road safety and strengthen oversight of private, school and commercial transport.
