Kenya is moving closer to overhauling its traffic management system, with Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo revealing that the government is actively modeling a new policing framework on some of the world’s most advanced urban traffic systems.
Following consultations with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), Omollo confirmed that the partnership is designed to modernize how Kenya handles road safety across its rapidly expanding cities and increasingly congested roads.
“We are currently studying models such as the Tokyo Metropolitan Police to design a system that can handle our growing urban population and heavy traffic flows,” he said.
The initiative falls under the Project for Strengthening the Safe-System Approach to Road Traffic Accidents in Kenya, a three-year program running from 2025 to 2028. Launched last May, the joint venture between the National Police Service (NPS) and JICA targets Kenya’s road safety response at its roots, including improving accident reaction times, refining traffic management, and ultimately driving down the country’s road fatality rate.
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The project takes a coordinated approach, addressing driver behavior, vehicle safety, and road design simultaneously rather than treating each as an isolated problem.
The Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Transport, and JICA have aligned under the Kenya–Japan Safe System Approach to Road Traffic Accidents Project to deliver specialized traffic safety training to Kenyan police officers.
Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo during a meeting with officials from the Japan International Cooperation Agency at his office on February 23.JICA Kenya Chief Representative Shinkawa Makoto briefed Omollo on the program’s progress, which the National Police Service and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) are currently implementing on the ground.
One of the project’s most significant deliverables is a digital accident reporting system. By digitizing how authorities collect and analyze crash data, the system aims to sharpen response times and anchor future policy decisions in real-time evidence rather than delayed reporting.
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At the heart of the project sits the globally recognized Safe-System Approach, a framework built on the understanding that human error is unavoidable. Rather than placing all responsibility on road users, the approach designs transport networks so that mistakes do not translate into deaths or life-changing injuries. Safer roads, safer vehicles, appropriate speed limits, and better-informed road users all work together to absorb the impact of accidents before they turn fatal.
The rollout also leans heavily on big data and digital intelligence to strengthen road safety management, giving traffic officers sharper tools to enforce regulations consistently and respond to incidents with greater speed and precision.
The broader initiative operates under a technical cooperation agreement between Japan and Kenya, giving Nairobi direct access to Tokyo’s deep institutional knowledge in traffic safety, expertise built over decades of managing one of the world’s most complex urban road networks.
Omollo shared the latest developments shortly after a week-long Safe-System Approach training program concluded on January 27 in Tokyo. JICA organized the session, bringing together senior police officials and key stakeholders who shape Kenya’s road safety policies and strategic planning decisions.
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