Senator Omtatah Accuses NTSA of Colluding With Driving Schools in Fraudulent Licensing Scheme
The senator also wants a full report on how the driving schools are being monitored, regulated, and audited with regard to provision of proper training, and issuance of licenses.
A motorist holding their driving licence. Photo/Courtesy
By Ruth Sang
The Senator for Busia, Okiya Omtatah, has accused NTSA of colluding with rogue driving schools in the unlawful issuance of driving licences, amidst newly emerging concerns about corruption and deteriorating road safety across the country.
Speaking in the Senate on Wednesday, November 19, Omtatah asked for a statement from the Senate Standing Committee on Roads and Transportation, maintaining that the alleged corruption within NTSA is directly contributing to the growing number of accidents on Kenya’s highways.
The Senator noted that illicit issuance of licenses is not a new issue, reminding the house of previous allegations that NTSA officials have been working in collaboration with driving schools to award licenses to people who have never been trained on the wheel. One such high-profile case came to light through a BBC undercover operation, in which journalists who had never driven obtained legitimate Kenyan licenses. The undercover journalists reported that they were promised a license in one of the driving schools in Eastleigh for Ksh14,000, without going through the mandatory test. They further reported that a contact at the NTSA headquarters had the smart driving license ready for an extra Ksh6,000 and Ksh2,000 in unofficial payments.
The complaints have similarly been echoed by the Kenya Driving Schools Association, which has accused some dishonest officials at NTSA of colluding with some schools to give out licenses to people who never trained. The Association has claimed that some of the instructors and school staff are part of the greater “racket” that enables individuals to buy their way to acquiring licenses instead of earning them through formal instruction.
In September, the Road Safety Association of Kenya called for the revocation of all driving licenses issued by NTSA in the last six years, claiming that most of them were acquired fraudulently. According to the association’s chair, David Kiarie, as high as 80 per cent of the licenses issued within that period were given to people who never attended driving school, a trend he directly linked to rising road fatalities.
Against that backdrop of disturbing allegations, Senator Omtatah asked the Roads Committee to determine what the government was doing to weed out corruption in NTSA. The senator also wants a full report on how the driving schools are being monitored, regulated, and audited with regard to provision of proper training, and issuance of licenses only to competent drivers.
Beyond issues of licensing, Omtatah asked the Ministry of Roads and Transport to state what was being done to raise the standards of the road infrastructure to make travel on the roads safe. He added that some of the major roads, which include the Nairobi–Mombasa, Malaba–Eldoret, and Eldoret–Malaba highways, were not well lit, had no proper signage, and had dangerous, unmarked bumps hazardous to motorists and pedestrians. “That the Roads Committee should bring to this House the steps being taken to ensure that all major roads are well-lit and appropriately signed to enhance safety,” he said.
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