NAIROBI, Kenya- DAP-Kenya leader Eugene Wamalwa has announced that the United Opposition will move to court on Monday to challenge new National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) regulations requiring annual inspections for private vehicles older than four years.
Speaking at a live TV interview on NTV, Wamalwa said the regulations would impose an additional financial burden on Kenyans already struggling with the rising cost of living.
“We will be going to court tomorrow to challenge these new NTSA regulations,” Wamalwa said.
“It means everyone who has a vehicle. Most of our vehicles are 8 years and above. Then it means everyone. Kenyans are furious.”
He argued that the mandatory annual inspection, which attracts a Sh2,000 inspection fee, was unfair to motorists at a time when many households are grappling with high fuel prices, taxation and the increasing cost of essential goods.
“We are going to court to challenge this. It is not practical. They don’t have the capacity. What will happen, we are going to expose Kenyans to serious extortion. It will open up Kenyans to serious corruption,” Wamalwa said.
“How much more do you think Kenyans can take? Kenyans can barely put food on the table.”
NTSA recently directed that all privately owned vehicles older than four years from their recorded date of manufacture undergo annual inspections beginning July 1, 2026, saying the move is intended to improve road safety by ensuring vehicles remain roadworthy.
The announcement has attracted criticism from sections of the opposition, civil society and legal practitioners, who argue the inspection fee amounts to an additional financial burden on motorists.
Wamalwa also raised concerns over what he described as a resurgence of enforced disappearances, warning that Nairobi had once again become the centre of alleged abductions.
“We are seeing the return of abductions, with Nairobi as the epicentre. Rogue police officers will kill again unless they are brought to book and the government is held to account,” he said.
His remarks come days after several activists who disappeared following the June 25 anniversary protests were later found abandoned with injuries and admitted to hospital, prompting renewed calls from human rights organisations for investigations into allegations of enforced disappearances and torture.
The government has maintained that the new inspection regulations are aimed solely at enhancing road safety, while security agencies have previously denied involvement in enforced disappearances and unlawful detentions, insisting that officers operate within the law.