State Issues New Directives on KD Number Plates After Protests

Jukwaa

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

Speaking during an interview on Citizen TV on Monday, NTSA Director General Nashon Kondiwa said the authority's decision was informed by security concerns and the need to improve traceability of vehicles using dealer registration (KD) plates.

“We are not going to the old system. This is a matter of security in terms of vehicle identity; there is a very thin line,” Kondiwa said.

His remarks come after car dealers in Mombasa staged protests on Monday, June 15, accusing NTSA of introducing measures that have disrupted vehicle movement from the Port of Mombasa, Container Freight Stations (CFS), and storage yards.

📌 What You Need to Know

The dealers argue that the strict enforcement of regulations governing KD plates has slowed vehicle deliveries, increased operational costs, and negatively affected business across the motor vehicle sector.

In April, NTSA moved to enforce Section 24 of the Traffic Act, which governs the use of dealer licences, saying the action was aimed at curbing misuse of KD number plates and ensuring they are only used for authorised purposes.

Kondiwa defended the move, saying investigations had revealed that dealer plates were being used in a manner that made it difficult for authorities to track vehicles whenever security concerns arose.

According to the NTSA boss, allowing any vehicle to move using any available KD plate created accountability gaps and weakened efforts to identify vehicles involved in incidents.

He further clarified that dealer plates will remain reserved for licensed motor vehicle dealers, while individual importers will be required to register vehicles and obtain number plates before using them on public roads.

“What these dealers are asking is that we should open it so that any vehicle can use any KD plate and move, and that is the problem because if we had a security issue, we could not trace who used the plate,” he said.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke

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