The Kenya National Highways Authority (KeNHA) will step up night patrols across the country’s major highways in a bid to tackle overloading by trucks transporting building materials, a practice that has damaged feeder roads, undermined safety, and strained the nation’s infrastructure.

The intensified crackdown follows mounting evidence that some transporters have developed sophisticated surveillance tactics to evade weighbridge checks.

Investigations reveal boda boda riders and taxi-hailing drivers are being paid to monitor and photograph KeNHA patrol units, with images quickly relayed to rogue truckers via private networks.

In other cases, overloaded vehicles divert to “panya” routes, causing severe deterioration to smaller roads, or obscure number plates to outwit virtual weighing systems.

Several incidents of hostility towards enforcement officers have been recorded. In one case at Athi River, a KeNHA team was attacked with stones by a group of sand loaders before police intervened to escort them to safety.

Assistant Operations Manager at Danka Africa Kenya Ltd, Jackson Kimuyu, said the patrol expansion would focus on overloading hotspots identified through data and intelligence.

“We are working closely with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations to identify and prosecute offenders, including those who obstruct or threaten our officers,” he said.

Alongside enforcement, KeNHA will continue rolling out a sensitization campaign targeting drivers, truck owners, and transport companies.

The programme will focus on the long-term costs of overloading, including reduced vehicle lifespan, increased fuel consumption, and the accelerated destruction of public roads.

Kenya’s classified road network, comprising national highways, urban roads, and rural access routes, is valued at over KSh 3 trillion. KeNHA warns that unchecked overloading could shorten the lifespan of key transport corridors, forcing costly repairs that divert funds from new road projects.

“Protecting the integrity of our road network is an economic priority. Every overloaded truck takes years off the life of our infrastructure,” Kimuyu added.