NTSA to hold matatu owners liable for stripping women

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) will hold owners of public service vehicles personally liable for incidences where women are stripped in public.

Speaking to journalists Thursday, NTSA chairman Lee Kinyanjui said that though the Matatu Owners Association had been put to task to produce the persons assaulting women at bus stops, they had failed to do so.

“The matatu owners are saying that they are not their employees, but what we are saying is, when a crime is perpetrated with your knowledge you become an accessory, similarly all those public service vehicles using that stage should take responsibility for whatever happens there,” he said.

Mr Kinyanjui noted that the authority would also carry out operations in Eastlands, especially areas where women are assaulted and stripped naked.

Drunk driving

Meanwhile, NTSA statistics show that the number of road accidents have also dropped by eleven per cent in the last year despite their initial target of a thirty per cent reduction. The cases of those who sustained serious injuries from road accidents within the same period also reduced by 20 per cent.

Over 4,000 people have been prosecuted for drunk driving over the last year through the sustained campaign of the breathalysers popularly known as alcoblow.

“We acknowledge that there is a lot of movement during the festive time and with our increased capacity and workforce we can be able to go to the grassroots to ensure that unroadworthy vehicles are not used and that we arrest all law breakers with an aggressive campaign against drunk driving,” he said.