A viral video of a miraa-chewing driving school instructor furiously berating his student during a practical lesson has stirred fierce debate online, casting fresh scrutiny on Kenya’s troubled driving culture.
The clip shows the no-nonsense tutor unleashing a barrage of insults as the visibly nervous learner struggles to engage gears in a manual car.
“Pumbavu! Yule ukimgonga utafungwa. Wewe unamwona mtu mbele yako na bado unaenda vile vile? Unamfuata yeye? Vipi wewe?” he is heard shouting, before snapping at the student to press the clutch and shift down.
“Mbona ufuate pikipiki imesimama, gear iko namba nne. Hata habari ya kuchange gear huna, gear iko namba nne baba? Wewe uko kweli hapa wewe?”
The instructor’s explosive tirade quickly divided opinion.
The Driving School is Located in Mtwapa pic.twitter.com/MFZhN5sUDv
— The Nairobi Times (@TheNairobiTimez) September 29, 2025
Some Kenyans shared their own experiences of humiliation at the hands of instructors, while others defended his strict approach as necessary.
“That’s why I taught myself how to drive,” one user wrote. “Matusi na pressure siwezani mimi.”
Another countered: “Driving can be a matter of life and death. The students had better learn that the hard way in the beginning.”
The video emerged just days after the Road Safety Association of Kenya (RSAK) called for all driving licenses issued in the past six years to be revoked, citing corruption, lax training standards, and a surge in fatal accidents.
RSAK chairperson David Kiarie alleged that up to 80 percent of the licenses issued in that period were obtained fraudulently, many by people who never stepped into a driving school but simply paid their way through.
“These licenses must be canceled,” he insisted. “If you got yours in the last six years, you should return to driving school so that we can have legitimate drivers—people who truly know the rules and responsibilities of the road.”
Kiarie further accused NTSA of alleged institutionalized bribery, claiming 1,200 vehicles have bypassed mandatory inspection.
The Long Distance Drivers and Conductors Association (LoDDCA) echoed those concerns, faulting NTSA for abdicating its enforcement mandate under the NTSA Act and allowing unqualified drivers onto the roads.
The anger follows a deadly weekend in which at least 20 lives were lost.
Among the tragedies, six people perished when an ambulance from St Mary’s Mission Hospital in Elementaita crashed at Kimende, while hours later, a collision between a matatu and a trailer on the same highway killed 13 people instantly, with the toll later rising to 16, many from the same family.