Under Section 36 of Kenya's Traffic Act (Cap 403), part 1 says:
"Any person driving a motor vehicle on a road shall carry his driving licence or provisional licence, and, on being so required by a police officer, produce it for examination".
However, the law does not stop there.
Section 36(2) expands on what may qualify as acceptable proof:
"For the purposes of this section, “driving licence or provisional licence” includes such other evidence as will satisfy the police that there is no contravention of section 30".
To understand this properly, it helps to look at section 30 (Drivers to be licensed) part 1 which states:
"No person shall drive a motor vehicle of any class on a road unless he is the holder of a valid driving licence or a provisional licence endorsed in respect of that class of vehicle."
Taken together, these provisions create an important distinction. The law’s primary concern is not simply possession of a plastic card. The underlying requirement is that a person driving on a road must be legally licensed to operate that specific class of vehicle. The licence serves as evidence of that legal authority.