Two anonymous emails sent to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) inbox in April and July alleged that a deputy director was involved in a bribery racket minting millions from learners in driving schools.

Three months after the second email, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) is in advanced stages of a probe, with suspects expected to be charged soon.

But not suspected racketeers demanding money from learners in return for driving licences — rather, three NTSA staffers accused of being behind the emails.

DCI officers based at Kabete Police Station want Lucy Mulaa, John Masila, and John Mutiso charged with publishing false information, despite not providing any evidence that the three were behind the April and July emails.

The three have, in their statements to the DCI, denied any involvement in the emails, instead arguing that their supervisor, Deputy Director Wilson Tuigong, has maliciously instigated the charges based on historical disputes at their Upper Hill workplace.

Mr Tuigong is the Deputy Director for Driver Training and Testing.

Uncollected driving licences at the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) offices in Mombasa County.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

On the same day Ms Mulaa was arrested, Mr Tuigong wrote to NTSA Director-General George Njao, stating that he had reported the matter to the DCI after his employer failed to act on several complaints, including the emails.

Mr Tuigong also referred to two leaflets that were, in 2024, pinned on the walls of washrooms at NTSA’s Upper Hill headquarters. The leaflets made the same allegations against him.

Last Friday, Mr Tuigong confirmed in a phone interview that he had filed a cyberbullying complaint following the two emails and what he described as “many other related things.” He, however, declined to describe the related matters which triggered his complaint.

He claimed that he initially did not know why his juniors had been arrested, maintaining that he does not know the status of the probe to date.

The deputy director declined to delve into specifics of his complaint, including what forms of cyberbullying he experienced outside the two emails.

“It (the complaint to DCI) was in relation to the two emails and many others. As a Kenyan, I’m also entitled to file a complaint if I feel aggrieved… I have not been updated on the investigations. I am also busy, and the police are able to do their job,” Mr Tuigong said in the interview.

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Mr Tuigong denied that the turn of events could discourage whistleblowing, maintaining that the NTSA has a clear policy facilitating anonymous reporting of complaints, either by staff or any member of the public.

Publishing false information is an offence under sections 22 and 23 of the Computer Misuse and Cybercrimes Act (2018), a controversial law which some experts have argued reintroduces criminal defamation through the back door — despite the courts declaring it unconstitutional in 2017.

The law was passed a year after criminal defamation was scrapped. Another case is currently before the Court of Appeal, with the Bloggers Association of Kenya seeking to have it quashed.

While no NTSA staff has been charged or dismissed over the alleged extortion of money from learners seeking driving licences, an April 8, 2025 letter from the State agency to all driving schools appeared to admit that a bribery racket is fleecing the public.

In the letter to driving schools, NTSA Director in charge of Road Safety Andrew Kiplagat outlined how the racketeering ring operates, based on reports received by the authority.

Dr Kiplagat said the reports indicated that driving school operators bribe NTSA examiners and refer to the loot as “appreciation.” The bribe, he added, is levied per student.

A police officer and an official form the NTSA official from National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) flag down vehicles at Lukenya, Machakos County during a crackdown on unroadworthy vehicles and drivers on March 27, 2024.

Photo credit: Evans Habil | Nation Media Group

“Further, the Authority has been made aware that driving training instructors have been mobilising money from the learner/driver students for presentation to NTSA driver test examiners, allegedly to aid their passing of driver tests. Facilitating and aiding corruption within the driver training and testing process is a major threat to road safety, given that drivers bear the greatest responsibility as far as safety on the roads is concerned,” Dr Kiplagat said in the letter.

The letter to driving schools was sent three weeks before the first whistleblower email reached the NTSA inbox.

In September 2025, Mr Tuigong filed a cyberbullying complaint with the DCI branch at Kabete Police Station.

Long-running disputes

On September 5, DCI officers from Kabete arrested John Masila and John Mutiso, both examiners in the Driver Training and Testing Unit, in Industrial Area and Machakos, respectively.

They were transferred to Kabete Police Station after being informed that they were suspects in an investigation into the publication of false information.

At NTSA, the two report to Lucy Mulaa, who is the manager of the Driver Training and Testing Unit.

At 7am the following day, DCI officers arrested Ms Mulaa at her Lang’ata home, stating that she was also a suspect in the same investigation.

The DCI officers searched her house, citing a court-issued warrant.

In a letter to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Ms Mulaa now says that the arresting officers declined to show her or her husband the search warrant and failed to properly take an inventory of the items seized from her Lang’ata home.

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Among the items seized were Ms Mulaa’s laptop and mobile phone.

“In view of the following, it is clear that the intentions by the said officers were to intimidate, embarrass, and instil fear in our client, her family, and guests who were visiting at the time,” Obura Mbeche & Company Advocates wrote in a letter on behalf of Ms Mulaa to the DPP.

Ms Mulaa was first booked at Lang’ata Police Station before being transferred to Kabete for statement recording.

At Kabete, the three colleagues met. They were released on Sh100,000 police cash bail each and told to attend court on September 22 for plea taking.

On September 22, the three were informed that investigations were incomplete, hence their arraignment was adjourned by eight days. On September 30, the trio was informed that the case had again been postponed — this time to October 28.

Despite having an arraignment date, the three are yet to be presented with any evidence of their alleged involvement in the emails.

The complaint and ensuing proposed charges have now lifted the lid on long-running disputes splitting senior NTSA managers, with allegations and counteraccusations flying across departments.

In her statement to investigating officers, Ms Mulaa said her first interaction with Mr Tuigong came in 2019, two years after she joined the NTSA as a road safety officer.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) inspection yard along Likoni Road in Nairobi.

Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group

Mr Tuigong was appointed Deputy Director of Driver Training and Testing at a time when Ms Mulaa was one of his juniors.

She claims that the deputy director refused to assign her work, and that she shared her frustrations with a Deputy Director in the Human Resource Department.

In 2021, Ms Mulaa successfully applied for a Principal Officer position in the Licensing Department and subsequently transferred from Mr Tuigong’s docket.

Three years later, she successfully applied for a Manager position in the Driver Training and Testing Department — a move that placed her directly under Mr Tuigong again.

Ms Mulaa stated in her police statement that after taking up the manager role, Mr Tuigong accused her of working against him alongside other NTSA staff, including some of his superiors.

As Ms Mulaa was recording her statement in Kabete, Mr Tuigong was submitting his own version of events and making counteraccusations against his junior and other NTSA staff.

In a letter to Director-General George Njao, Mr Tuigong claimed that the NTSA had failed to investigate his complaints about the leaflets and the emails. That, he said, prompted him to file the DCI complaint.

He asked the NTSA to initiate an investigation into his alleged cyberbullying and to cooperate with the DCI.

bwasuna@ke.nationmedia.com