The Kenya National Highways Authority has intensified efforts to stop unsafe sugarcane transport, citing a sharp increase in road accidents involving overloaded tractors.
The authority highlighted that many tractors move sugarcane beyond allowed height limits and often operate with broken lights and poor road fitness, creating serious dangers for drivers and pedestrians, particularly at night.
KeNHA warned that sugarcane transport remains a high-risk activity due to the conditions of many tractors on the roads. Most are overloaded and lack functioning lighting, which greatly increases the chances of crashes.
“Sugarcane transportation aboard tractors continues to pose a grave safety risk to road users, particularly at night when visibility is low. Many of the transporting tractors are unroadworthy, often operating with faulty lighting systems and carrying bulky loads that extend beyond permissible dimensions. It is these conditions that significantly increase the likelihood of accidents,” the authority said.
In the latest enforcement check, the Busia Weighbridge mobile team intercepted a tractor, registration KTCB 694W, along the Kisumu–Busia corridor. The vehicle was carrying sugarcane stacked to five metres, surpassing the legal maximum of 4.2 metres.
The driver is set to face charges under Section 55(2) as read with Section 58(1) of the Traffic Act, Cap 403, when he appears at the Busia Law Court on Monday, November 24, 2025.
KeNHA stressed that enforcing traffic and load regulations is vital to keep road users safe and protect the nation’s infrastructure. The authority added that many tractors still lack reflective markings or working headlights, a factor that makes night travel even more hazardous.
The crackdown on oversized sugarcane transport coincides with wider road safety initiatives by agencies, including the National Police Service and NTSA.
Acting NTSA Director General Angela Wanjira said thousands of drivers will undergo fresh assessments before the December holidays following a report that road crash victims rose by 2.6 per cent in 2025 compared to 2024. She said the retesting will target drivers identified through enforcement checks and NTSA’s Intelligent Road Safety Management System to ensure they meet safety standards.
In September, KeNHA and the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission launched a nationwide sensitisation programme for weighbridge staff. The training focuses on the Anti-Bribery Act of 2016, the Anti-Bribery Procedures of 2022, and KeNHA’s internal anti-corruption guidelines.
“The exercise is aimed at creating awareness among weighbridge management and staff on the Act, as well as on the procedures established by the Authority to enable effective and sufficient reporting on bribery and corruption,” they said.
Weighbridges have long been associated with corruption, including bribery for allowing overloaded trucks or falsifying weight records.
Through the new programme, KeNHA aims to eliminate such loopholes while empowering staff to report any bribery attempts.
“This exercise demonstrates the Authority’s commitment to promoting transparency in the execution of her mandate and ensuring that loopholes that could be exploited against the war on corruption are sealed,” KeNHA said.
