Police Officer Captured on Video Recruiting Kenyan to Collect Bribes for Him

A police officer who was stationed at a roundabout in Nairobi risks losing his job after he was arrested for engaging in bribery.

Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) on Friday published a Gazette Notice indicating that the offense was carried out in January 2023.

The Commission revealed that it received a complaint from the public that police officers had recruited a civilian to collect bribes on their behalf.

At the time, the officers were stationed around the flyover from Muthurwa heading to the Country Bus Station in Nairobi at the junction from Gikomba.

A police car at a crime scene in Kenya.

Photo

NPS

“On 13th and 17th January 2023, the investigation team carried out surveillance at Echo Roundabout and captured video recordings of the suspects who appeared to be taking bribes from public service vehicles,” read the notice signed by EACC CEO Twalib Mbarak.

Soon after, one of the officers was arrested alongside the suspected civilian collecting bribes on his behalf.

However, the investigation established insufficient evidence to sustain bribery charges against the suspects.

“On June 3, 2024, a report was compiled and forwarded to the DPP (Director of Public Prosecutions) with recommendations that the National Police Service Commission takes administrative action against the suspect,” added the notice.

On July 24, 2024, the DPP returned the inquiry file to EACC with recommendations for administrative action.

The case appeared alongside several other bribery incidents involving police officers.

Separately, a police officer attached to Kasarani police station demanded a Ksh30,000 bribe in order to release two persons from police custody in June this year.

The investigation established that the suspect requested and received a bribe of KSh10,000. During the arrest, the suspect resisted arrest and damaged property belonging to Red Plate Restaurant.

Subsequently, EACC wrote to DPP recommending the suspect be charged with two counts of receiving a bribe and one count of obstruction. The ODPP concurred with the recommendation.

In another case, a police officer attached to the Kisumu County Criminal Investigation Office reportedly demanded a bribe of Ksh500,000 to withdraw the charges against a suspect accused of stealing goods in transit.

The suspect is said to have received a bribe of Ksh200,000 and the EACC forwarded the file to the ODPP on June 13 this year. The file was returned to EACC for further investigations.

A file image of a traffic police officer manning traffic on a road in Nairobi.

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Ma3Route