As the new year begins with a grim trail of deadly crashes, the Motorists Association of Kenya (MAK) is pointing an accusing finger at rogue driving schools and weak enforcement, warning that poor training is turning Kenyan roads into death traps.
In a statement released on Monday, January 5, the association said many driving schools across the country are churning out drivers who are ill-prepared for real-life road conditions. According to MAK, essential lessons such as highway driving and night driving are often ignored, yet some institutions still boast perfect pass rates.
The result, the association says, is a growing population of motorists who hold valid licences but lack the skills needed to safely navigate busy highways, long-distance routes and unpredictable traffic.
“NTSA must explain how untrained and untested drivers are walking away with licences,” MAK said. “You cannot keep blaming drivers when the system that produces them is broken.”
The group warned that unless training institutions are held accountable, Kenyans will continue to bury loved ones on highways that should be linking towns and livelihoods, not ending lives.
MAK also took aim at traffic police, accusing some officers of abandoning their core duty of keeping roads safe. The association claimed that officers often avoid known accident blackspots and instead set up speed traps in safer sections of highways, where crashes are rare but bribes are easier to collect.
“Traffic enforcement has been reduced to rent-seeking roadblocks,” the statement read. “Dangerous overtaking, overloaded vehicles and mechanical defects are ignored after bribes are paid, and when tragedy strikes, the blame is quickly shifted to ‘reckless drivers’.”
Beyond enforcement and licensing, the association urged both national and county governments to address long-standing infrastructure gaps that continue to put road users at risk. These include the lack of service roads, proper lighting, pedestrian crossings, truck lay-bys and clear land-use controls along major highways.
MAK further called for the fast-tracking of dualling projects on some of the country’s most dangerous routes, particularly the Nairobi–Nakuru and Nairobi–Mombasa highways, which consistently record high numbers of fatal crashes.
The warning comes at a time when the country is reeling from a series of deadly accidents as travellers head back to the capital after the festive season. In just three days, more than 15 people have lost their lives on major roads.
On Monday, January 5, at least 10 people were killed when a Greenline bus collided head-on with a Nanyuki Cabs shuttle in Naivasha. Two days earlier, five others died after a 14-seater matatu was involved in a crash at Kikopey in Gilgil.
Confirming the Naivasha accident, Nakuru County Police Commander Emmanuel Opuru said emergency teams had been dispatched to the scene and urged motorists to exercise caution, especially on the busy highway.
“We have received the report and responded accordingly. We continue to urge drivers to be extra careful, particularly during this period of heavy traffic,” Opuru said.
While the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) has stepped up compliance checks during the festive season, road users and industry stakeholders say enforcement alone will not solve the problem.
Without serious reforms in driver training, licensing and policing, they warn, the country risks starting yet another year counting lives lost on its highways.
