NTSA arrests 35 pedestrians at Buruburu Mutindwa footbridge in Nairobi crackdown
Key points
- 35 pedestrians arrested at Mutindwa footbridge, Buruburu Interchange, for not using the bridge.
- NTSA says they will be arraigned; similar Allsops operation recently put 22 in court with NPS and Nairobi County.
- To 30 June 2026, pedestrians were 38% of road crash fatalities, NTSA says.
- Crossing under bridges instead of using them risks fines of Sh500–Sh5,000.
Thirty-five pedestrians left Mutindwa footbridge at Buruburu Interchange in handcuffs, not on the span — the National Transport and Safety Authority’s latest answer to jaywalking that blocks traffic and fills the fatality ledger, Eastleigh Voice reported.
NTSA said the exercise targeted people who crossed the carriageway instead of climbing the designated bridge. Offenders will be arraigned. The raid follows a joint NTSA–National Police–Nairobi City County operation that put 22 pedestrians before court over the Allsops footbridge only days earlier.
Why the agency is swinging the stick
As of 30 June 2026, pedestrians accounted for 38% of road traffic crash deaths, NTSA said — a share it calls alarming and that it wants shared ownership from counties, police and the walking public. Fines for ignoring footbridges run from Sh500 to Sh5,000, with education campaigns promised alongside arrests.
Critics will ask whether dark, dirty or incomplete bridges make the climb optional; NTSA’s public line is still compliance first, infrastructure debate second. Both can be true: a bridge that feels unsafe will lose the argument to a four-lane dash.
What would make the crackdown fairer
Publish lighting and maintenance scores for high-arrest bridges; keep enforcement paired with visible fixes. Transport desk: News.
County ward teams can map the ten deadliest crossing points and demand lighting before the next arrest wave. Motorists also kill pedestrians at legal crossings — a one-sided footbridge war will not cut the 38% alone.
The 35 Mutindwa arrests plus the earlier 22 at Allsops make a 57-person enforcement wave in days — enough for a public spreadsheet of charge outcomes if NTSA wants deterrence to stick. Pair that with the 38% pedestrian fatality share through 30 June 2026 and the Sh500–Sh5,000 fine band, and the policy is measurable without another viral video of people being frogmarched off the asphalt.
Ward engineers should file a 14-day lighting and handrail check on Mutindwa and Allsops so the next 35 arrests cannot be dismissed as punishment for a broken climb.
Based on Eastleigh Voice reporting of NTSA’s Mutindwa and Allsops enforcement statements. Court outcomes and official crash statistics control final numbers.
