An officer working with the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has been apprehended and charged with soliciting a Ksh20,000 bribe to allegedly interfere with an ongoing investigation.
The officer, a sergeant stationed at Changamwe Police Station in Mombasa County, was taken into custody by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) nearly seven years after the alleged offense occurred.
In a statement released by the EACC, the commission revealed that the officer had requested the bribe to terminate a criminal case in which the complainant was involved.
“EACC has arrested and arraigned a DCI officer based at Changamwe Police Station in Mombasa County for soliciting a bribe from the complainant as an inducement to terminate a criminal case in which the complainant was allegedly involved,” the statement read.
The incident took place on June 6, 2018, when the officer demanded Ksh20,000 to derail an investigation. It was revealed that the officer had already received an initial payment of Ksh10,000.
The arrest followed a formal complaint lodged by the individual who claimed they were coerced into paying the bribe.
“He requested a financial advantage of Ksh20,000 and accepted a down payment of Ksh10,000 from the complainant, with the intent that the investigation would be compromised and the case dropped,” the EACC noted.
The officer appeared before Mombasa Chief Magistrate Alex Ithuku, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges. The court granted him release on a bond of Ksh300,000 or an alternative cash bail of Ksh100,000.
This case has sparked public outrage, highlighting the irony of a law enforcement officer, tasked with fighting corruption, being implicated in bribery.
The incident underscores a broader concern about corruption within public institutions, particularly law enforcement agencies.
This arrest comes shortly after a separate crackdown by the EACC on nine traffic police officers from the National Police Service (NPS), who were accused of extorting motorists during the Christmas holiday season.
The EACC confirmed on January 2 that the officers were apprehended in Nakuru, Kajiado, and Kisii counties after the agency set up sting operations to catch them in the act.
A report by the EACC from March 2023 revealed that traffic and regular police officers are among the top three most bribery-prone public officials in Kenya.
The 2023 National Ethics and Corruption Survey showed that on average, anyone seeking services from traffic police officers is likely to be asked for a bribe 1.45 times.
This finding reinforces the growing public perception that corruption within law enforcement agencies remains a significant challenge in the fight against graft.
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