By Isaac Blessings
Founded in the late 90s, Rocky Driving School is one of the oldest and well established driving schools in the country. Since its inception, the school has taught over one million students and grown to have 43 branches spread across the country. However in a recent documentary by BBC titled Kenya’s killer roads, the school was exposed as contributing to road accidents by selling driving licenses without giving the clients driving training.
In this article WoK takes a look at the man behind this school, the scandal and everything you need to know about Rocky Driving School.
Rocky Driving School owner
Rocky Driving School was established in the late 1990s by a man simply known as Mr. Rocky. He registered the company as Rocky Driving School and Computer College and steadily grew it to where it is currently. According to the driving school website, he is described as a humble man who has conquered the limits of the impossible and invariably hesitates to narrate his achievements. About 20 years ago, Mr. Rocky underwent a delicate operation to remove a cyst entwined in his spinal cord which went wrong and devastatingly left him paralyzed from waist down. He however looked at the situation positively and took it upon himself to help other persons living with disabilities.
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He is now a leading motivational speaker, a mentor and transformational coach. He serves at the Kenyan Paraplegic Organization – an organization helping people with spinal cord injuries. He is a bold disability activist at the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD) and African Peer Review Mechanism (APRM). Mr. Rocky is actively involved in charity activities in the country and is a renowned road safety advocate and motoring enthusiast. He is passionate about serving humanity and being a fortress of hope in a country where young people thirst for inspiration. Apart from the Driving School, he is also the owner of Hotel Monarch located along Rose Avenue, Kilimani Nairobi.
Rocky Driving School
Rocky Driving school is accredited by the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and has been operational since the 90s. The school has handled an excess of over 1 million students who have passed through the school and offers NTSA Approved curriculum. The curriculum includes Category A – Motorbike, Category B – light vehicle (small cars), Category C –light truck, Category D for PSV, Category E – Heavy trucks and Category F – for Persons with Disability. The school currently has 43 branches including different parts of Nairobi, Embu, Meru, Narok, Thika, Nakuru, Kericho, Eldoret and Kisumu among many others.
The Scandal
During an expose documentary titled ‘Kenya’s Killer roads’ that featured Mombasa Communication Director Richard Chacha and the Chairman of the Road Association that aired on British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) on 21st March 2022, Rocky Driving School was caught selling driving licenses to clients without undergoing a test or lessons. Posing as a taxi driver, one of the investigators went to one of Rocky Driving Schools and met an attendant known as Hassan who he was informed could help him get a driving license at a fee.
Hassan asked him to pay Ksh 14,000 and would get him a driving license with the help of an NTSA insider known as Jeremiah. After paying the amount, the investigator was later issued a smart DL a few days later at the NTSA Headquarters without going through lessons or a test. The expose has since caused an uproar on the internet with the NTSA saying that it has launched investigations in the school and if found guilty, would be dealt with in accordance with the law.
