Experts urge revocation of all driving licenses issued in past six years over rising road crash deaths

Police officers inspect incident site after a truck and two cars crashed on the Nakuru-Eldoret highway causing at least 8 casualties in Nakuru on December 31, 2023. (Photo: James Kamau/ANADOLU/Anadolu/AFP)

By Lucy Mumbi
Tuesday, September 30, 2025

The Road Safety Association of Kenya (RSAK) argues that the lack of proper driver training has become a major contributor to the country’s rising road fatalities.

The government has been urged to revoke all driving licenses issued in the past six years, with road safety experts claiming that most holders never attended driving schools, fueling a surge in fatal accidents.

The Road Safety Association of Kenya (RSAK) argues that the lack of proper driver training has become a major contributor to the country’s rising road fatalities.

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“We want those licenses cancelled and the drivers taken back to school because 80 per cent of the licenses issued over the past six years are bogus. This is why the road carnage is increasing by the day and claiming innocent lives,” RSAK national chairman David Kiarie said on Tuesday.

The plea follows the death of at least 20 Kenyans in separate crashes over the weekend. In one incident, an ambulance collided with a trailer, killing six people, while a matatu carrying family members rammed into a truck near Kariandusi in Nakuru County, leaving 16 dead.

“Nationally, road fatalities rose from 4,324 in 2023 to 4,748 last year, representing a 10 per cent increase. Since January this year, the toll has exceeded 300 lives. This is a serious state of affairs,” Kiarie added.

Kiarie, accompanied by transport investors and boda boda operators, called on the government to act decisively, accusing relevant agencies of turning a deaf ear to sector concerns. He criticised the recent National Road Safety Conference in Mombasa, attended by Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, saying key players like speed limiter suppliers, public service vehicle bodybuilders and driving schools were sidelined.

“It is time the government stop paying lip service to matters of road safety and the alarming death toll and acts with the seriousness required. For how long shall we continue losing people on the roads?” he posed.

He also condemned plans by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to privatise some core services, arguing that such a move could compromise road safety. Kiarie raised concerns over extending the NTSA Director General’s tenure, noting that the current office bearer is serving a second three-year term ending next month.

He accused the NTSA of selling licenses for Sh6,000, citing the recent fatal accident in Nakuru where a Subaru driver collided with a matatu and a lorry.

“This tells you that the driver bought a license, and that is something that we have reported. Somebody who has gone to school knows to give way, and when such a scenario happens, you know that it is important to just give way,” he said.

He also claimed that around 1,200 vehicles went uninspected but paid Sh6,000 each to remain operational, allegedly generating Sh7.2 million for higher-ups.

The Long Distance Drivers and Conductors Association (LoDDCA) supported the claims, accusing NTSA of failing to enforce the law.

“The deaths of 20 Kenyans in just two days are not isolated tragedies; they are the inevitable result of NTSA’s failure. Every delay, every ignored reform, every leadership lapse translates directly into lost lives,” the association said.

LoDDCA further criticised the design of the vehicles involved, noting that both the 14-seater matatu and the ambulance were intended for cargo, not passengers, raising questions over vehicle safety standards.