In an anti-graft drive, three traffic police officers have been apprehended by the anti-corruption agency. The move comes after the anti-corruption agency gathered intelligence of several motorists being bribed along the Webuye–Kitale highway, a route known to be a hot spot for such illegal activities.
In the course of the arrest, members of the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) made the biggest arrests of traffic police being bribed along the Webuye–Kitale highway, a road that has most of the time been a complaint area by motorists on the issue of corruption and illegal collections.
According to the commission, the action is a component of a larger campaign against public sector corruption and aims to restore trust in law enforcement agencies. This road is one of the busiest transport routes that connect western Kenya to adjacent countries. It is used by thousands of commercial vehicles, public transport operators as well as private motorists. The Webuye–Kitale corridor is an important transportation link that connects western Kenya to other countries in the region and supports the movement of thousands of commercial vehicles, public transport operators as well as private commuters daily.
The recent police arrest will, without doubt, bring up the issue of corruption along Kenyan roads again, where drivers and transport operators have accused police officers of harassment, illicitly demanding money and abusing their authority at checkpoints for a long time.
According to the anti-graft agency, it has given public officers a three-month ultimatum within which it will intensify investigations and prosecution of those who are found to be committing such offences against the public. As investigations proceed, focus will now be on whether this anti-graft drive is only a show of force on Kenya's highways or another situation that is forgotten with time.
Quite a number of motorists will understand the message as the efforts to end roadside bribery may really be shifting from talk to arrests.
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