A constitutional petition has been filed in the High Court of Kenya against the National Transport and Safety Authority, challenging the alleged unlawful increase in the cost of reflective license plates.
On August 21st, former Mavoko Constituency MP aspirant Michael Musembi Wambua filed a petition accusing the National Transport and Safety Authority of unlawfully increasing the cost of number plates from Sh. 3,050 to Sh. 3,750 without public participation or a valid explanation.
The human rights advocate raised serious concerns about NTSA’s fee increase, which occurred between September 2023 and March 2024.
He argues that the 25% license plate price hike was done without following the legal requirement of public consultation or issuing a gazettement notice. Later, the fees were quietly reverted to the original amount without any transparency.
The sudden price hike during that time raised concerns among Kenyans about the transparency of NTSA’s operations. The petitioner calls NTSA’s actions “arbitrary and opaque,” arguing that they violated the law.
Wambua insists that the institution should be held accountable for what he considers fraud. He also urges the Auditor General to conduct a forensic audit of all transactions related to the fee increase during that time.
Wambua also demands, through his petition, that NTSA refund the additional Sh. 700 charged to all motorists.
In a statement released on Wednesday, May 31st, NTSA denied all allegations of raising prices, despite numerous complaints from motorists about the extra charges they had to pay for the service.
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The authority explained that the Sh. 700 charge was specifically for the electronic chip sticker (e-sticker), which is necessary for verifying and authenticating vehicle ownership.
The e-sticker contains electronic details about the vehicle, such as the chassis number, car model, registration number, and ownership information. It is placed on the left inner side of the windscreen.
The e-sticker helps the government track stolen cars, count the number of vehicles in the country, and provide automated traffic statistics.
The National Transport and Safety Authority has 14 days to respond to the petition. The case will continue on October 8th, 2024, when the High Court will provide further instructions.