Speaking during the funeral service of three African Independent Pentecostal Church of Africa (AIPCA) bishops who died in a grisly accident at Wamumu on the Embu-Nairobi road, Mr Kenyatta said he was concerned with increased deaths on the roads.
The funeral service of the late Bishops Philip Kubai (Ntonyiri), Stanley Karuru (Igembe Central) and Moses Ntoeruri (Igembe South) was held at Maili Tatu Grounds in Igembe Central.
“I agree that road accidents have been on the rise and the government will work to ensure we minimize the accidents. We have decided that all NTSA officers withdraw from the roads and leave traffic work to the police. We want to see if we can restore order on the roads,” the president said.
Mr Kenyatta at the same time called on Kenyans to take responsibility of ensuring the roads were safe.
CARELESS DRIVING
The head of state noted that about 80 percent of road accidents are caused by careless driving and disregard to the traffic law.
“The government will play its part but Kenyans must also play their part. As a passenger, you have a responsibility to ensure the driver observes the rules. Passengers should not be the one urging drivers to speed,” he said.
AIPCA Archbishop Julius Njoroge, who led the funeral service, had blamed the NTSA for failing to restore normalcy on the roads.
The bishop called on the government to put in place new measures to end road carnage.
Archbishop Njoroge noted that current road safety measures have failed.
“Accidents do not occur, they are caused. Despite several measures including the establishment of the National Transport Safety Authority have not yielded results. Something else must be done. We cannot expect different results by doing things the same way,” the Archbishop said.
OBSERVE DISCIPLINE
He faulted NTSA for failing in it’s mandate and urged road users to observe discipline to restore sanity on the roads.
“I feel NTSA officers are behaving like Traffic Police officers. This was not the intention of the government in setting up NTSA,” the Bishop said.
The three bishops died on the spot when their vehicle collided head-on with an oncoming car as they were heading to Meru from a Church meeting in Thika.
