Five traffic police officers have been arrested by the Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC) for allegedly demanding and receiving bribes from motorists along the busy Busia–Kisumu Road near Busia Town.
The EACC confirmed that the Thursday operation was conducted after the agency received numerous public complaints about police officers extorting money and harassing road users in the area.
Detectives reportedly laid a trap and caught the officers in the act, collecting cash from drivers and transport operators in exchange for “safe passage.”
According to the commission, the arrests followed weeks of surveillance that exposed a pattern of corrupt activities by the officers, who had allegedly turned the stretch of road into an illegal toll point.
The suspects were taken to the EACC Western Regional Offices in Bungoma for interrogation and further processing.
The anti-graft agency said the latest arrests are part of an ongoing crackdown on corrupt traffic officers across the country.
A similar operation was carried out in August this year, when four police officers were nabbed for allegedly soliciting and receiving bribes from motorists, matatu operators, and truck drivers along the Nairobi–Nyeri–Embu Highway.
In that earlier case, three of the officers were attached to the Makutano Traffic Base, while the fourth was stationed at Juja Traffic Base, both within Embu County.
Investigations revealed that the officers had been demanding small payments from drivers to avoid arrest or charges for minor traffic violations.
Motorists across the country have continued to raise concerns about the increasing number of illegal checkpoints, where they claim officers extort money under the pretense of enforcing traffic rules.
Drivers report that the bribes often range from Ksh50, Ksh100, or Ksh200, depending on the alleged offense, while in some cases, the officers reportedly demand larger sums.
EACC has repeatedly warned that corruption within the police service remains a major challenge in the fight for accountability on Kenyan roads.
A recent report by the Commission ranked the police service as the most corrupt public institution in the country, followed closely by county government officials.
“An analysis of bribe receivers by profession revealed that police officers (29.93 per cent), National Registration Bureau officials (19.7 per cent), medical officers (9.53 per cent), land registry officers (7.39 per cent), and immigration officers (5.8 per cent) were the top recipients of bribes,” the EACC report stated.
The agency has vowed to intensify its operations to root out officers who abuse their authority, saying that corruption among traffic police not only tarnishes the image of the National Police Service but also endangers the lives of motorists and undermines public trust in law enforcement.
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