NAIROBI, Kenya – Matatu operators have petitioned Parliament to enact new laws protecting them from what they term rampant insurance fraud, accusing the Insurance Regulatory Authority (IRA) of failing to shield the public transport industry from fake and inflated claims.
Through the Federation of Public Transport Sector (FPTS), the operators told the National Assembly’s Public Petitions Committee that rogue lawyers and insurance agents have been exploiting loopholes in the system to file false claims, including cases involving “ghost passengers.”
FPTS Chief Executive Officer Kushian Muchiri said unethical practices — such as manipulation of service affidavits and inflated legal fees — have flourished because of weak oversight and manual systems that make verification difficult.
“We propose an amendment to the Insurance Act and the Traffic Act to mandate a cashless fare collection system across all licensed PSVs, using a dual-mode approach: QR Code and USSD-enabled payment channels,” said Muchiri.
He argued that cashless transactions would enable operators to easily identify passengers in case of accidents, thereby deterring opportunistic legal claims.
Muchiri said the absence of a proper passenger manifest allows unscrupulous individuals to file injury claims without proof that they were in the affected vehicles.
“Ninety per cent of fares are already collected digitally. Legal enforcement would bring uniformity and protect operators who initially resisted digital payments,” he added.
Push to digitise police accident records
The federation also faulted the continued use of manual Occurrence Books (OBs) in police stations, saying they are prone to manipulation, data loss, and reporting delays.
To address this, FPTS wants Parliament to amend the National Police Service Act to require digital accident reporting and the inclusion of a unique verification code from the IRA in every police OB entry related to road accidents.
“Amend the NPS Act to provide for regulations guiding mandatory nationwide digitisation of OBs used in road accident reporting and a unique verification code from IRA’s national claim database for generating police abstracts,” Muchiri said.
The proposals are now before the National Assembly Public Petitions Committee, chaired by Soy MP Janet Sitienei, which is examining ways to enhance transparency and accountability in the public transport and insurance sectors.
